Shloka 20
राजधर्मः—प्रमादवर्जनं, दण्डनीतिः, दुर्बलरक्षणम्
Royal Dharma: Vigilance, Just Punishment, Protection of the Vulnerable
यानि मिथ्याभिशस्तानां पतन्त्यश्रूणि रोदताम् । तानि पुत्रान् पशून् घ्नन्ति तेषां मिथ्याभिशंसनात्
yāni mithyābhiśastānāṁ patanty aśrūṇi rodatām | tāni putrān paśūn ghnanti teṣāṁ mithyābhiśaṁsanāt ||
قال أوتاثيا: «إن الدموع التي تسقط من عيون من يبكون بعد أن يُتَّهَموا زورًا لا تسقط عبثًا. فبفعل البهتان والإسناد الكاذب نفسه تصير تلك الدموع سببًا للهلاك—فتهلك أبناءَ المُتَّهِمين ومواشيهم. وهكذا ترتدّ التهمة الباطلة على الظالم بعواقب أليمة.»
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
False accusation (mithyābhiśaṁsana) is a grave adharma: the suffering it causes to the innocent returns upon the slanderer as destructive karmic consequence, symbolized by the tears of the wronged bringing ruin to the wrongdoer’s lineage and wealth.
In a didactic discourse within Śānti Parva, the sage Utathya warns about the moral and practical danger of condemning people unjustly. He frames the harm as immediate and tangible—loss of children and cattle—underscoring the social and cosmic seriousness of slander.