Shloka 17
अध्याय १५२: लोभः पापस्य मूलम् — Greed as the Root of Wrongdoing
न भयाजन्न च कार्पण्यान्न लोभात् त्वामुपाह्नये । तां मे दैवीं गिरं सत्यां शृणु त्वं ब्राह्मणै:ः सह,राजन! मैं भयसे, दीनतासे और लोभसे भी तुम्हें अपने पास नहीं बुलाता हूँ। तुम इन ब्राह्मणोंके सहित दैवीवाणीके समान मेरी यह सच्ची बात कान खोलकर सुन लो
na bhayāj na ca kārpaṇyān na lobhāt tvām upāhvaye | tāṁ me daivīṁ giraṁ satyāṁ śṛṇu tvaṁ brāhmaṇaiḥ saha, rājan |
ข้าแต่พระราชา เรามิได้เรียกท่านมาด้วยความกลัว มิใช่ด้วยความคับแค้นยากไร้ และมิใช่ด้วยความโลภ ท่านจงฟังถ้อยคำสัตย์ของเรา—ดุจวาจาเทวะ—พร้อมด้วยพราหมณ์เหล่านี้โดยตั้งใจเถิด
शौनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The speaker establishes ethical credibility: counsel should not be motivated by fear, weakness, or greed. True instruction to a ruler must be grounded in satya (truth) and delivered with the gravity of dharmic, almost ‘divine’ authority.
Śaunaka addresses a king and urges him—along with assembled Brahmins—to listen carefully. He prefaces his forthcoming statement by clarifying that he is not calling the king for self-interested reasons, but to speak a truthful, weighty message.