Shloka 74
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
सदा न विश्वसेद् राजन् पापं कृत्वेह कस्यचित् । अपकृत्य परेषां हि विश्वासाद् दुः:खमश्लुते,राजन्! किसीका अपराध करके फिर उसपर कभी विश्वास नहीं करना चाहिये। जो दूसरोंका अपकार करके भी उनपर विश्वास करता है, उसे दुःख भोगना पड़ता है
sadā na viśvased rājan pāpaṃ kṛtveha kasyacit | apakṛtya pareṣāṃ hi viśvāsād duḥkham aśnute rājan ||
Brahmadatta said: “O King, one should never place trust again in someone who has committed a sin here. For he who harms others and yet, out of misplaced confidence, trusts them, inevitably comes to taste sorrow.”
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches prudent discernment: after someone has committed wrongdoing, trusting them again is dangerous; misplaced trust in a proven wrongdoer leads to suffering.
In a didactic exchange within the Śānti Parva, Brahmadatta addresses a king and offers counsel on governance and personal conduct, warning that confidence in those who have already acted sinfully or harmed others results in grief.