Shloka 11
भारत! डाकुओंको लूट-पाट या हिंसा आदि भयानक कर्मोके लिये अनायास ही सेना सुलभ हो जाती है। सर्वथा मर्यादाशून्य मनुष्यसे सब लोग उद्विग्न हो उठते हैं। केवल निर्दयतापूर्ण कर्म करनेवाले पुरुषकी ओरसे डाकू भी शंकित रहते हैं
bhārata! ḍākūnām luṭ-pāṭaṃ vā hiṃsāṃ vādyāni bhayānakāni karmāṇi kartuṃ senā anāyāsenaiva sulabhā bhavati | sarvathā maryādāśūnyāt puruṣāt sarve lokā udvignā bhavanti | kevalaṃ nṛśaṃsa-karmakāriṇaḥ puruṣasya diśaṃ prati ḍākavo 'pi śaṅkāṃ kurvanti |
O Bhārata, for robbers, a band of followers is obtained with little effort for dreadful deeds such as plunder and violence. Everyone becomes alarmed at a man who is utterly without restraint. Even robbers themselves remain suspicious and fearful of one who acts only with ruthless cruelty.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unrestrained cruelty destabilizes society: violent enterprises easily gather followers, yet a person devoid of moral boundaries becomes a source of fear to all—so much so that even criminals distrust and dread the utterly ruthless.
Bhīṣma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in the Śānti Parva on conduct and governance, describes how lawless violence attracts a ready band, and warns that a boundaryless, pitiless man provokes universal anxiety and suspicion.