Shloka 19
Ānṛśaṃsya, Amātya-Guṇa, and Reconciliatory Counsel (आनृशंस्य–अमात्यगुण–संधि-उपदेशः)
आत्मन्यपि च संदृश्यावुभी जयपराजयौ । नि:ःशेषकारिणां तात नि:शेषकरणाद् भयम्
ātmany api ca saṃdṛśyāv ubhī jayaparājayau | niḥśeṣakāriṇāṃ tāta niḥśeṣakaraṇād bhayam ||
Bhishma said: “Dear child, one should look within oneself and recognize both victory and defeat. Those who strip others of their wealth so completely that nothing is left behind live in constant fear for themselves, born of the sin of total dispossession.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches ethical restraint and inner discernment: recognize that the impulses leading to “victory” and “defeat” arise within oneself, and understand that totally depriving others of their possessions is a grave wrong that breeds continual fear and insecurity for the wrongdoer.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he warns against ruthless appropriation—especially leaving others with nothing—framing it as a sinful act whose psychological and karmic consequence is persistent fear.