Shloka 13
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
न तस्मै धारयेद् दण्डं राजा धर्मेण धर्मवित् । क्षत्रियस्य तु बालिश्याद् ब्राह्मण: क्लिश्यते क्षुधा
na tasmai dhārayed daṇḍaṃ rājā dharmeṇa dharmavit | kṣatriyasya tu bāliśyād brāhmaṇaḥ kliśyate kṣudhā ||
Bhīṣma said: A king who knows dharma should not, even while acting in accordance with dharma, impose punishment upon him. For it is due to the folly and misrule of the kṣatriya that the brāhmaṇa comes to suffer the torment of hunger.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that royal punishment (daṇḍa) must be guided by moral responsibility and social context: when a brāhmaṇa’s hardship (especially hunger) arises from the kṣatriya ruler’s own negligence or folly, a dharma-knowing king should refrain from punishing that person and instead recognize the ruler’s duty to prevent such suffering.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma (the duties of kings), Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira about just governance. Here he frames a situation where a brāhmaṇa is distressed by hunger due to kṣatriya misrule, and he counsels restraint in punishment, emphasizing the king’s accountability for conditions that drive subjects into distress.