Shloka 40
अमात्यान् वा गुरून् वापि जह्याद् धर्मेण धार्मिक: । प्रायक्षित्तमकुर्वाणैनैतैरहीति संविदम्
amātyān vā gurūn vāpi jahyād dharmeṇa dhārmikaḥ | prāyaścittam akurvāṇān etair ahīti-saṃvidam ||
Bhishma said: A righteous king, acting in accordance with dharma, should renounce even his ministers or his teachers if they have fallen into wrongdoing. And so long as they do not perform the prescribed expiation (prāyaścitta) for their sin, he should not enter into social intercourse or conversation with them.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even high-status figures—ministers and gurus—are not exempt from moral accountability. A righteous ruler must uphold dharma by withdrawing recognition and association from those who have fallen into sin, and should restore relations only after they complete proper prāyaścitta (expiation).
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship and conduct, Bhishma advises Yudhishthira on governance: the king must protect the moral order of the realm by distancing himself from fallen officials or teachers until they atone, thereby preventing corruption of the court and setting a public standard of dharmic discipline.