Shloka 12
असंतोष ही लक्ष्मीकी प्राप्तिका मूल कारण है; अतः मैं असंतोष चाहता हूँ। राजन्! जो अपनी उन्नतिके लिये प्रयत्न करता है, उसका वह प्रयत्न ही सर्वोत्तम नीति है ।। ममत्वं हि न कर्तव्यमैश्व॒र्ये वा धनेडपि वा । पूर्वावाप्तं हरन्त्यन्ये राजधर्म हि तं विदु:,ऐश्वर्य अथवा धनमें ममता नहीं करनी चाहिये, क्योंकि पहलेके उपार्जित धनको दूसरे लोग बलात् छीन लेते हैं। यही राजधर्म माना गया है
asaṁtoṣo hi lakṣmyāḥ prāptikā mūla-kāraṇam; ataḥ aham asaṁtoṣam icchāmi. rājan! yaḥ svasyonnatyai prayatate, tasya sa prayatna eva śreṣṭhā nītiḥ. mamatvaṁ hi na kartavyam aiśvarye vā dhane ’pi vā; pūrvāvāptaṁ haranty anye—rāja-dharma hi taṁ viduḥ.
Sinabi ni Duryodhana: “Ang di-pagkakasiya ang ugat ng pagkamal ng kasaganaan; kaya pinipili kong manatiling di nasisiyahan. O hari, para sa taong nagsisikap para sa sariling pag-angat, ang pagsisikap na iyon mismo ang pinakamabuting patakaran. Huwag kumapit nang may pag-aangkin sa paghahari o kayamanan, sapagkat ang dating natamo ay inaagaw ng iba sa pamamagitan ng lakas; ito, aniya, ang nauunawa bilang daan ng dharma ng hari.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a hard-edged political ethic: prosperity is driven by persistent dissatisfaction and effort, while attachment to wealth or sovereignty is portrayed as unwise because power and property are unstable and can be seized. It contrasts ‘striving’ (prayatna) as the best nīti with the futility of possessiveness (mamatva) in royal life.
In the Sabha Parva context, Duryodhana articulates his worldview to the king he addresses: he justifies relentless ambition and frames the competitive, coercive nature of kingship as normal ‘rāja-dharma.’ The statement reveals his mindset—restless desire for increase and a readiness to accept force and dispossession as part of political order.