Shloka 9
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
योडनाहिताग्नि: शतगुरयज्वा च सहस्रगुः । तयोरपि कुट॒म्बा भ्यामाहरेदविचारयन्
yo 'n-āhitāgniḥ śata-gur-ayajvā ca sahasra-guḥ | tayor api kuṭumbābhyām āhared avicārayan ||
Bhishma said: If a Vaishya possesses a hundred cows yet does not maintain the sacred household fires (neglecting the Agnihotra), and another possesses a thousand cows yet does not perform sacrifices, then from the households of both such men the king should, without hesitation, levy and take wealth.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth and social standing carry obligatory duties (maintaining sacred fires, performing sacrifices). When a householder—especially one prosperous in cattle—neglects these dharmic responsibilities, the king may enforce dharma through fiscal measures, taking wealth from such households as a corrective and as protection of the moral order.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma in the Śānti Parva, he gives a concrete rule: two prosperous Vaiśyas are described—one with a hundred cows who does not keep the sacred fires, and one with a thousand cows who does not perform sacrifices. Bhīṣma states that the king should levy/take wealth from both households without hesitation.