Shloka 27
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
सर्वाभिशड्की नृपतिर्यश्व सर्वहरो भवेत् । स क्षिप्रमनजुर्लुब्ध: स्वजनेनैव बध्यते,जो राजा सबपर संदेह करता और सबका सर्वस्व हर लेता है, वह लोभी और कुटिल राजा एक दिन अपने ही लोगोंके हाथसे शीघ्र मारा जाता है
sarvābhiśaṅkī nṛpatir yaś ca sarvaharo bhavet | sa kṣipram anṛjur lubdhaḥ svajanenaiva badhyate ||
قال بهيشما: إنّ الملك الذي يشكّ في الجميع ويغدو ناهبًا لكل شيء—يسلب رعيته أموالهم وحقوقهم—فإنّ ذلك الحاكم الجشع الملتوي يُكبح سريعًا ويُسقطه شعبه بيده. والعبرة أنّ الحكم القائم على الارتياب والمصادرة يهدم الشرعية، وأن سقوط الحاكم ينهض من الجماعة نفسها التي ظلمها.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must not govern through blanket suspicion and predatory seizure of subjects’ property; greed and crookedness erode trust and invite collective resistance, leading to the ruler’s swift downfall at the hands of his own people.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma warns Yudhishthira about the fate of an oppressive king: when a ruler treats everyone as suspect and becomes a universal confiscator, his own community ultimately restrains and destroys him.