Shloka 7
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
यथा धर्मसमाविष्टो धनं गृह्नाति तस्कर: । रमते निर्हरन् स्तेन: परवित्तमराजके,जैसे चोर धर्मकार्यमें प्रवृत्त होकर भी दूसरोंके धनका अपहरण कर ही लेता है और अराजक-अवस्थामें पराये धनका अपहरण करनेवाला लुटेरा सुखका अनुभव करता है
yathā dharma-samāviṣṭo dhanaṁ gṛhṇāti taskaraḥ | ramate nirharan stenaḥ para-vittam arājake ||
Just as a thief, even while appearing absorbed in “righteous duty”, still takes wealth; and in a lawless condition the robber who carries off another’s property actually feels pleasure.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that mere outward association with dharma does not prevent unethical acts; when political authority and social restraint collapse (arājaka), people may even take pleasure in violating others’ rights, such as stealing property.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction in the Śānti Parva on governance and social order, he uses the example of thieves in a lawless situation to illustrate how anarchy enables and normalizes wrongdoing, undermining dharma in practice.