Shloka 17
Kośa-saṃjanana and Subtle Dharma
Treasury Formation and Fine-Grained Ethics
स्त्रिया मोष: पतिस्थान दस्युष्वेतद् विगर्हितम् । संश्लेषं च परस्त्रीभिवर्दस्युरेतानि वर्जयेत्,युद्ध न करनेवालेको मारना, परायी स्त्रीपर बलात्कार करना, कृतघ्नता, ब्राह्मणके धनका अपहरण, किसीका सर्वस्व छीन लेना, कुमारी कन््याका अपहरण करना तथा किसी ग्राम आदिपर आक्रमण करके स्वयं उसका स्वामी बन बैठना--ये सब बातें डाकुओंमें भी निन्दित मानी गयी हैं। इस्युको भी परस्त्रीका स्पर्श और उपर्युक्त सभी पाप त्याग देने चाहिये
bhīṣma uvāca | striyā moṣaḥ patisthāna-dasyuṣv etad vigarhitam | saṃśleṣaṃ ca para-strībhiḥ dāsyur etāni varjayet ||
Bhīṣma said: “Even among thieves, it is condemned to violate a woman, to steal what belongs to her husband’s household, and to consort with another man’s wife. Therefore, a robber too should abstain from these acts.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that some wrongs—especially violating women, violating marital boundaries, and stealing from a husband’s household—are universally condemned; if even thieves recognize these as disgraceful, a person aiming at dharma must certainly renounce them.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhīṣma addresses moral limits by citing what is considered blameworthy even among bandits, using that as a strong ethical benchmark for Yudhiṣṭhira’s understanding of dharma.