Shloka 42
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
एवं कोशस्य महतो ये नरा: परिपन्थिन: । तानहत्वा न पश्यामि सिद्धिमत्र परंतप
evaṁ kośasya mahato ye narāḥ paripanthinaḥ | tān hatvā na paśyāmi siddhim atra paraṁtapa paraṁtapa ||
قال بيشما: «إنّ الرجال الذين يعرقلون جمع هذا الكنز العظيم—المجموع لحماية الناس ورخائهم—هم أعداء في الطريق. ومن غير قتلهم، يا محرِق الأعداء، لا أرى كيف تُنال النجاة في هذا المسعى».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames the protection of the realm and the maintenance of public welfare as requiring a strong treasury, and he argues that deliberate obstructors of such a lawful, protective fiscal effort may need to be forcibly removed; otherwise the ruler cannot accomplish the duty of safeguarding the people.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship (rājadharma), Bhishma advises the listener that when people act as ‘paripanthins’—blocking the collection of a major treasury meant for public protection—mere persuasion may not suffice, and he states that success in the task is not seen without decisive punitive action.