Shloka 13
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
कृश उवाच दुर्लभो5प्यथवा नास्ति यो<र्थी धृतिमवाप्नुयात् स दुर्लभतरस्तात योडर्थिनं नावमन्यते,दुर्बल शरीरवाले मुनिने कहा--तात! जो याचक धैर्य धारण कर सके अर्थात् किसी वस्तुकी आवश्यकता होनेपर भी उसके लिये किसीसे याचना न करे, वह दुर्लभ है एवं जो याचना करनेवाले याचककी अवहेलना न करे--आदरपूर्वक उसकी इच्छा पूर्ण करे, ऐसा पुरुष संसारमें अत्यन्त दुर्लभ है
kṛśa uvāca durllabho 'py athavā nāsti yo 'rthī dhṛtim avāpnuyāt | sa durllabhataras tāta yo 'rthinaṃ nāvamanyate ||
Sabi ni Kṛśa: “Bihira—o marahil ay wala—ang taong salat na nakakamit ang tibay ng loob, na kahit nangangailangan ay hindi namamalimos sa iba. Ngunit higit pang bihira, mahal kong anak, ang taong hindi humahamak sa naninikluhod na humihingi, kundi iginagalang ang namamanhik at tinutupad ang kanyang hiling.”
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two virtues are contrasted: (1) the rare strength of a needy person who maintains dhṛti and refrains from begging despite want, and (2) an even rarer virtue—refusing to scorn a petitioner and instead responding with respectful generosity. The verse elevates compassion and non-contempt toward the vulnerable as exceptionally difficult and therefore highly valued dharma.
In a didactic exchange within Śānti Parva, the speaker Kṛśa addresses a listener (“tāta”) and offers a moral observation about human conduct: true nobility is shown not only in self-restraint under need, but more profoundly in how one treats those who come asking—without humiliation and with readiness to help.