Shloka 12

Devanagari script

ते चेन्मिथो<धृतिं कुर्युर्विनश्येयुरसंशयम्‌ । न हर्तव्यं परधनमिति धर्म: सनातन:

Transliteration

te cen mitho dhṛtiṁ kuryur vinaśyeyur asaṁśayam | na hartavyaṁ paradhanam iti dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn Menschen miteinander einen Pakt starrsinniger Entschlossenheit schließen (zu rauben und zu vergelten), werden sie ohne Zweifel zugrunde gehen. Darum darf man das Vermögen eines anderen nicht nehmen — dies ist das ewige Gesetz des Dharma.“

Word by Word

तेthey

चेत्if

मिथःmutually, with one another

धृतिम्steadfastness, restraint

कुर्युःshould do / should practice

विनश्येयुःwould perish

असंशयम्undoubtedly

नnot

हर्तव्यम्to be taken / should be taken

परधनम्another's wealth

इतिthus (quotative)

धर्मःdharma, righteous rule

सनातनःeternal

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that taking another’s property is contrary to eternal dharma; when people harden into mutual, retaliatory resolve, society collapses into certain ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct and social ethics; here he warns against cycles of mutual obstinacy and affirms the perennial rule against appropriating others’ wealth.