Shloka 52
अनीतिजं यस्य विधानजं सुखं हठप्रणीतं विधिवत्प्रदृश्यते । न विद्यते तस्य गतिर्महीपते- न विद्यते राज्यसुखं हानुत्तमम्,जिन्हें अन्यायसे उपार्जित, हठसे प्राप्त तथा दैवके विधानके अनुसार उपलब्ध हुआ सुख विधिके अनुरूप प्राप्त हुआ-सा दिखायी देता है, राजधर्मको न जाननेवाले उस राजाकी कहीं गति नहीं है तथा उसका परम उत्तम राज्यसुख चिरस्थायी नहीं होता
anītijaṁ yasya vidhānajaṁ sukhaṁ haṭhapraṇītaṁ vidhivatpradṛśyate | na vidyate tasya gatir mahīpate na vidyate rājyasukhaṁ hy anuttamam ||
Bhishma said: O king, the man whose happiness is born of unrighteousness—won by force and obstinacy—may appear, by the workings of fate, to have been obtained in a lawful manner. Yet for such a ruler who does not truly know the duties of kingship, there is no good end; and even his seemingly supreme royal pleasure does not endure.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Happiness gained through injustice and coercion may temporarily look legitimate due to circumstances, but it has no stable foundation in dharma; such a ruler has no auspicious destiny, and his royal enjoyment cannot last.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on raja-dharma, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira about the moral responsibilities of kingship, warning that power and pleasure obtained by adharma—even if it seems sanctioned by fate—lead to ruin and instability.