Shloka 31
Nakula’s Counsel on Yajña, Dāna, and Tyāga (नकुलोपदेशः—यज्ञदानत्यागविचारः)
अप्रदाय द्विजातिभ्यो मात्सर्याविष्टचेतस: । वयं ते राजकलयो भविष्याम विशाम्पते
apradāya dvijātibhyo mātsaryāviṣṭa-cetasaḥ | vayaṃ te rāja-kalayaḥ bhaviṣyāma viśāṃpate prajānātha |
Nakula nói: “Nếu tâm trí bị lòng đố kỵ chi phối mà chúng ta không ban tặng cho những bậc ‘nhị sinh’ (dvija), thì, hỡi chúa tể của muôn dân, chúng ta sẽ bị xem là ‘Kali giữa các vua’.”
नकुल उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s legitimacy is tied to rājadharma: overcoming envy and sustaining the social-religious order through dāna (generous giving), especially to dvijas. Refusing charity out of jealousy marks a king as ‘Kali-tainted’—a symbol of moral and political degeneration.
Nakula warns the addressed ruler that if they, driven by mātsarya (envy), do not give appropriate gifts to the twice-born, they will be condemned as kings embodying Kali—i.e., rulers who undermine dharma and the welfare of subjects.