Shloka 9
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
दुःखादान इह होष स्यात् तु पश्चात् क्षयोपम: । अभिगम्यमतीनां हि सर्वासामेव निश्चय:
duḥkhādāna iha hoṣa syāt tu paścāt kṣayopamaḥ | abhigamyamatīnāṃ hi sarvāsām eva niścayaḥ ||
قال بهيشما: «إذا استخرج الملكُ الجبايةَ في زمن الشدّة بإيلام رعيّته، بدا ذلك نافعًا في حينه؛ لكنه فيما بعد يثبت مُهلكًا، كأنه الهلاك بعينه. وهذا هو الحكم المستقرّ عند كل العقول الرشيدة الجديرة بأن يُستشارَ رأيُها.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in emergencies, extracting wealth by inflicting suffering on the people is short-term gain that leads to long-term ruin; wise counsel rejects oppressive taxation as contrary to sound kingship.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on rajadharma, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on statecraft and moral governance, warning that coercive exactions during crises ultimately destroy the king’s stability and legitimacy.