Shloka 17
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
प्रसवे चैव नारीणां वृद्धानां पुत्रकारिता । तथा नरेन्द्र धनिनां सा55शा कृशतरी मया
kṛśa uvāca | prasave caiva nārīṇāṁ vṛddhānāṁ putrakāritā | tathā narendra dhanināṁ sāśā kṛśatarī mayā, narendra |
羸瘦者（Kṛśa）说道：“大王啊，老年妇人心中仍盼得一子之希望；富贵之人心中仍求利得日增之希望——如此希望，噫，人中王者，在我身上却更为微薄。”
कृश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tenacity of human hope—whether for progeny or for wealth—and contrasts it with the speaker’s own diminished expectation, pointing toward vairāgya (detachment) and a sober recognition of desire’s persistence.
Kṛśa addresses a king and uses two vivid comparisons—aged women longing for a son and rich men longing for more riches—to explain that even such strong hopes are, in his case, weaker still, indicating his reduced worldly aspiration.