Shloka 9
दुःखादान इह होष स्यात् तु पश्चात् क्षयोपम: । अभिगम्यमतीनां हि सर्वासामेव निश्चय:,आपत्तिके समय भी यदि प्रजाको दुःख देकर धन वसूल किया जाता है तो पीछे वह राजाके लिये विनाशके तुल्य सिद्ध होता है। आश्रय लेने योग्य जितनी बुद्धियाँ हैं, उन सबका यही निश्चय है
duḥkhādāna iha hoṣa syāt tu paścāt kṣayopamaḥ | abhigamyamatīnāṃ hi sarvāsām eva niścayaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “If, in a time of distress, a king extracts revenue by causing suffering to his subjects, it may seem advantageous at the moment; but later it proves ruinous, like destruction itself. This is the settled judgment of all prudent minds worthy of being consulted.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in emergencies, extracting wealth by inflicting suffering on the people is short-term gain that leads to long-term ruin; wise counsel rejects oppressive taxation as contrary to sound kingship.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on rajadharma, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on statecraft and moral governance, warning that coercive exactions during crises ultimately destroy the king’s stability and legitimacy.