Shloka 19
Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications
कुर्वते च बहून् मार्गास्तान् हेतुबलमाश्रिता: । सतां मार्गान् विलुम्पन्ति लोभाज्ञानेषु निष्ठिता:
kurvate ca bahūn mārgāṁs tān hetu-balam āśritāḥ | satāṁ mārgān vilumpanti lobhājñāneṣu niṣṭhitāḥ ||
Bhishma said: Relying on the force of specious reasoning, people fabricate many false paths. Then, established in greed and ignorance, they begin to plunder and destroy the paths laid down by the virtuous—those boundaries of dharma that sustain society.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed and ignorance, aided by clever but misleading argumentation, generate counterfeit moral systems and erode the dharmic standards established by the virtuous.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct, Bhishma warns Yudhishthira that people may use the appearance of logic to justify unrighteous ways, thereby undermining the social and ethical order upheld by good persons.