Shloka 12
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
अर्थ इत्येव सर्वेषां कर्मणामव्यतिक्रम: । न हाते<र्थन वर्तेते धर्मकामाविति श्रुति:,अर्थ ही समस्त कर्मोकी मर्यादाके पालनमें सहायक है। अर्थके बिना धर्म और काम भी सिद्ध नहीं होते--ऐसा श्रुतिका कथन है
artha ityeva sarveṣāṃ karmaṇām avyatikramaḥ | na hy arthanā vartete dharma-kāmāv iti śrutiḥ |
Arjuna nói: “Artha (phương tiện vật chất) là điều không thể thiếu để giữ cho mọi công việc khỏi lạc đường. Quả vậy, śruti đã dạy rằng: không có artha thì dharma (bổn phận chính nghĩa) và kāma (hưởng thụ hợp lẽ) cũng không thể vận hành đúng đắn.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Artha—practical resources and material support—is presented as necessary for keeping actions within proper limits and for enabling both dharma (duty/virtue) and kāma (legitimate enjoyment). Ethical life is not portrayed as anti-material, but as requiring adequate means to be sustained.
In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on governance and right conduct, Arjuna voices a principle about the interdependence of life-goals: he cites śruti to argue that without artha, neither dharma nor kāma can be effectively pursued.