Shloka 9
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
योडनाहिताग्नि: शतगुरयज्वा च सहस्रगुः । तयोरपि कुट॒म्बा भ्यामाहरेदविचारयन्
yo 'n-āhitāgniḥ śata-gur-ayajvā ca sahasra-guḥ | tayor api kuṭumbābhyām āhared avicārayan ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—যি বৈশ্যৰ ওচৰত এশ গাই আছে অথচ অগ্নিহোত্র নকৰে, আৰু যি বৈশ্যৰ ওচৰত হাজাৰ গাই আছে অথচ যজ্ঞ নকৰে—এই দুয়োৰে কুটুম্বৰ পৰা ৰজাই বিনা দ্বিধাই ধন গ্ৰহণ কৰিব।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth and social standing carry obligatory duties (maintaining sacred fires, performing sacrifices). When a householder—especially one prosperous in cattle—neglects these dharmic responsibilities, the king may enforce dharma through fiscal measures, taking wealth from such households as a corrective and as protection of the moral order.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma in the Śānti Parva, he gives a concrete rule: two prosperous Vaiśyas are described—one with a hundred cows who does not keep the sacred fires, and one with a thousand cows who does not perform sacrifices. Bhīṣma states that the king should levy/take wealth from both households without hesitation.