Shloka 24

Devanagari script

यः कृशार्थ: कृशगव: कृशभृत्य: कृशातिथि: । स वै राजन्‌ कृशो नाम न शरीरकृश: कृश:,राजन्‌! जिसके पास धनकी कमी है, गौएँ और सेवक भी कम हैं तथा जिसके यहाँ अतिथियोंका आना-जाना भी बहुत कम हो गया है, वास्तवमें वही कृश (दुर्बल) कहलाने योग्य है। जो केवल शरीरसे कृश है, उसे कृश नहीं कहा जा सकता

Transliteration

yaḥ kṛśārthaḥ kṛśagavaḥ kṛśabhṛtyaḥ kṛśātithiḥ | sa vai rājan kṛśo nāma na śarīrakṛśaḥ kṛśaḥ ||

Translation

రాజా! ఎవనికి సంపద తక్కువగా ఉందో, ఎవనికి గోవులు తక్కువగా ఉన్నాయో, సేవకులు తక్కువగా ఉన్నారో, అతిథుల రాకపోకలు కూడా అరుదైపోయాయో—అతడే నిజంగా ‘కృశుడు’ (దీనుడు/క్షీణుడు) అని పిలువబడతాడు. కేవలం శరీరంగా సన్నగా ఉండటం మాత్రమేగానీ ‘కృశత్వం’ కాదు.

Word by Word

यःwho

कृशार्थःone whose wealth/purpose is scant; poor

कृशगवःone having few cows

कृशभृत्यःone having few servants

कृशातिथिःone having few guests (rarely visited)

सःhe

वैindeed

राजन्O king

कृशःscant/weak (truly 'lean')

नामby name; in the sense of

नnot

शरीरकृशःlean in body; physically thin

कृशः‘lean/weak’ (in the true sense)

Speaker

अर्जुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

King (rājan)

cows/cattle (go)

servants/retainers (bhṛtya)

guests (atithi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse redefines ‘weakness’ as social and economic diminishment rather than mere bodily thinness: true ‘kṛśatā’ is the loss of means, cattle, dependents, and the flow of guests—markers of prosperity, responsibility, and dharmic household life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna addresses a king and clarifies a moral distinction: he argues that the term ‘kṛśa’ should be applied to one whose household and resources have withered (wealth, cattle, servants, hospitality), not simply to someone who is physically lean.