Shloka 19
Adhyāya 177: Pañca-mahābhūta-vicāra and Vṛkṣa-jīva-lakṣaṇa
Five Elements Inquiry and the Status of Plant Life
तमतिक्रान्तमर्यादमाददानं ततस्ततः । प्रतिषेधन्ति राजानो लुब्धा मृगमिवेषुभि:,“इस तरह मर्यादाका उल्लंघन करके जब वह इधर-उधरसे लूट-खसोटकर धन ले आता है, तब राजा उसे उसी प्रकार कठोर दण्ड देकर रोकते हैं। जैसे व्याध बाणोंसे मारकर मृगोंकी गति रोक देते हैं
tam atikrāntamaryādam ādādānaṃ tataḥ tataḥ | pratiṣedhanti rājāno lubdhā mṛgam iveṣubhiḥ ||
Bhishma said: When a man oversteps the bounds of maryādā and keeps seizing wealth here and there by plunder, kings restrain him with severe punishment—just as hunters stop a deer’s flight with arrows.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Those who violate maryādā by predatory taking and plunder must be checked by the ruler; punishment is presented as a necessary instrument of rāja-dharma to protect society and uphold ethical boundaries.
Bhishma describes a wrongdoer who roams about seizing wealth unlawfully; he says kings restrain such a person through harsh penalties, using the simile of hunters halting a deer’s movement with arrows.