Words Well Worth 41: Four Sires That Wealth Sire Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Of four brothers that wealth may sire:
There's dharma, sacrificial fire,
The king and his empire,
Business, commerce and trade;
Of them if eldest is slighted,
The three get enraged turning head.
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Transliteration of the subhāśhita along with the meanings of Sanskrit words is given as under:

Chatvārah dhana-dāyadā dharmah agnih nŗpah taskarāh |
Teśhām jyeśhţha avamānena trayah kupyanti bāndhavāh ||

chatvārah: a quartet of four
dhana-dāyadā:givers/providers of wealth
dharmah: righteousness and virtue, code of virtuous conduct
agnih: the fire (sacrificial fire, referring to sense of sacrifice and giving)
nŗpah: a king
taskarāh: foreign traders, also, the smugglers/ illicit traders
teśhām: of them
jyeśhţha: the eldest, i.e. dharmah
avamānena: if neglected, overlooked, slighted
trayah: the (remaining)three
kupyanti: get angry, enraged
bāndhavāh: the friends/brothers

What a wise advice on wealth! The verse visualizes four sources of wealth, welfare, and well-being as four brothers: Dharma (the virtuous way to the rest and a way of life) , fire (oblation to agni in sacrifice, king (as the biggest source of wealth) , and commerce and trade. Of them Dharma is held as the eldest brother. If the other three are not pursued in the righteous way they get angry.

Topic: wealth, money, righteousness