अथ यज्ञविभूतिं तां काङ्क्षसे भरतर्षभ ॥
ऋत्विजस् तव तन्वन्तु सप्ततन्तुं महाध्वरम् ॥
आहरिष्यन्ति राजानस् तवापि विपुलं धनम् ॥
प्रीत्या च बहुमानाच् च रत्नान्य् आभरणानि च ॥
अनर्थाचरितं तात परस्वस्पृहणं भृशम् ॥
स्वसंतुष्टः स्वधर्मस्थो यः स वै सुखम् एधते ॥
atha yajñavibhūtiṃ tāṃ kāṅkṣase bharatarṣabha ||
ṛtvijas tava tanvantu saptatantuṃ mahādhvaram ||
āhariṣyanti rājānas tavāpi vipulaṃ dhanam ||
prītyā ca bahumānāc ca ratnāny ābharaṇāni ca ||
anarthācaritaṃ tāta parasvaspṛhaṇaṃ bhṛśam ||
svasaṃtuṣṭaḥ svadharmastho yaḥ sa vai sukham edhate ||
If, however, you crave that sacrificial splendor, O bull of the Bharatas, then let your priests extend for you the great seven-stranded rite. And kings will bring you abundant wealth as well — out of affection and esteem — jewels and ornaments. Ruinous, my dear, is conduct driven by strong craving for another's wealth; but whoever is content with himself and stands firm in his own dharma truly flourishes in happiness.
cd833a92051b · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:49:22 PM UTC
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The father points to the remedy for envy: accomplish your own work, and do not covet another's. It is significant that he speaks of contentment: 'whoever is content with himself and stands firm in his own dharma flourishes in happiness.' The verse reveals the ancient truth about santosha — contentment — as the root of happiness: blessed is not the one who has more than everyone, but the one who does not desire what belongs to another. And 'craving for another's wealth' is called 'ruinous conduct' (anartha) — it is itself a calamity carried within the breast. Dhritarashtra offers his son a path of peace: perform your own sacrifice, and what is yours will come; envy, however, is a rejection of one's own happiness for the sake of tormenting oneself over another's. Whoever is content with his lot and faithful to his own duty is already rich, however small that lot may be.