Shloka 48

Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa

The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa

Devanagari script

धनं भोगं पुत्रदारं समद्धि सर्व लुब्धः प्रार्थयते परेषाम्‌ । लुब्धे दोषा: सम्भवन्तीह सर्वे तस्माद्‌ राजा न प्रगृह्नीत लुब्धम्‌

Transliteration

Bhīṣma uvāca: dhanaṁ bhogaṁ putradāraṁ samṛddhiṁ sarva-lubdhaḥ prārthayate pareṣām | lubdhe doṣāḥ sambhavantiha sarve tasmād rājā na pragṛhṇīta lubdham ||

Translation

毗湿摩说：“为贪欲所吞噬之人，觊觎他人所有的一切——财物、享乐、妻子儿女与兴盛。贪者之中，世间诸过皆由此而生；故王者不可收用贪人入仕，亦不可授之官职。”

Word by Word

• {'dhanaṁ': 'wealth, money, property', 'bhogam': 'enjoyment

• comforts', 'putradāram': 'sons and wife

• family (children and spouse)', 'samṛddhim': 'prosperity, affluence, flourishing condition', 'sarva-lubdhaḥ': 'one wholly greedy

• utterly covetous person', 'prārthayate': 'desires, seeks, begs for, covets', 'pareṣām': 'of others

• belonging to others', 'lubdhe': 'in the greedy person', 'doṣāḥ': 'faults, vices, moral defects', 'sambhavanti': 'arise, come into being, manifest', 'iha': 'here (in this world/context)', 'sarve': 'all (without exception)', 'tasmāt': 'therefore, for that reason', 'rājā': 'king

• one who governs', 'na': 'not', 'pragṛhṇīta': 'should accept/appoint/take into service', 'lubdham': 'a greedy person'}

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• rājā (the king/ruler)
• lubdha (the greedy person)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Greed is a root-vice that generates many other faults; therefore a ruler must avoid empowering greedy people, since their covetousness leads to corruption and harm to others.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma advises the king on whom to trust and appoint, warning that a greedy person covets others’ wealth and relationships and thus becomes unfit for royal office.