Shloka 12
धन-राजधर्म संवादः
Discourse on Wealth and Royal Duty
राजा नहुषने निर्धनावस्थामें क्रूरतापूर्ण कर्म करके यह दुःखपूर्ण उदगार प्रकट किया था कि “इस जगतमें निर्धनताको धिक्कार है! सर्वस्व त्यागकर निर्धन या अकिंचन हो जाना यह मुनियोंका ही धर्म है, राजाओंका नहीं' ।।
aśvastanam ṛṣīṇāṃ hi vidyate veda tad bhavān | yaṃ tv imaṃ dharmam ity āhur dhanād eṣa pravartate ||
阿周那说：“你很清楚，仙人牟尼之道是不为明日储藏，日日乞食以自活。然而世人所谓‘王者之法’却由财富推动；它依赖资财与资源。因此，适合出家苦行者的那种严峻‘无有’，并不等同于肩负责任的统治者之法（dharma）。”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Different dharmas apply to different roles: ascetics may practice non-accumulation and live by daily alms, but a king’s dharma—protection, governance, charity, and public order—requires material resources; therefore it is ‘set in motion’ by wealth.
Arjuna argues about the practical basis of royal duty, contrasting the sages’ non-storing lifestyle with the king’s obligation to act in the world. The verse supports the point that rulership cannot be sustained through ascetic poverty.