Shloka 83
Adhyāya 272: Vṛtrasya Dharmiṣṭhatā, Indrasya Mohaḥ, Vasiṣṭha-upadeśaḥ
Vṛtra’s dharmic stature; Indra’s disorientation; Vasiṣṭha’s counsel
उत्तर न्यायसम्बद्धं ब्रवीति विधिचोदितम् । कुरुनन्दन! वह कोई बहाना लेकर ही धर्म करता है, कपटसे ही धन कमानेकी रुचि रखता है और यदि कपटसे धन प्राप्त करनेमें सफलता मिल गयी तो वह उसीमें अपनी सारी बुद्धि लगा देता है। भरतनन्दन! फिर तो विद्वानों और सुहृदोंके मना करनेपर भी वह केवल पाप ही करना चाहता है तथा मना करनेवालोंको थधर्मशास्त्रके वाक्योंके द्वारा प्रतिपादित न्याययुक्त उत्तर दे देता है
uttaraṃ nyāya-sambaddhaṃ bravīti vidhi-coditam | kuru-nandana! sa kaścid vyājaṃ kṛtvāiva dharmaṃ karoti, kapaṭenaiva dhana-sampādane ruciṃ dhatte; yadi ca kapaṭena dhanaṃ prāpya siddhiṃ labhate, tadā tasminn eva sarvāṃ buddhiṃ niveśayati | bharata-nandana! tataḥ paṇḍitaiḥ suhṛdbhiś ca nivāryamāṇo 'pi kevalaṃ pāpam eva kartum icchati, nivārayitṝṇāṃ ca dharma-śāstra-vākyaiḥ pratipāditaṃ nyāyopapannaṃ uttaraṃ dadāti |
Bhishma said: “O delight of the Kurus, such a man speaks in a way that seems consistent with justice, even citing what the rules enjoin. He performs ‘dharma’ only after inventing some pretext, and he is drawn to acquiring wealth through deceit. If he succeeds in gaining riches by fraud, he then fixes his whole intelligence upon that very path. O scion of Bharata, thereafter—even when learned men and well-wishing friends try to restrain him—he desires only to commit sin; and to those who forbid him he offers a ‘reasonable’ reply, constructed from the very sentences of the dharmaśāstras.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that a morally compromised person can cloak wrongdoing in the language of justice and even cite dharmaśāstra to rationalize deceit. Success in fraudulent gain strengthens the habit, and the person becomes resistant to correction, using clever ‘scriptural’ arguments to defend sin.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma describes a character-type: someone who performs ‘dharma’ only as a pretext, pursues wealth through fraud, and—when admonished by wise friends—persists in wrongdoing while offering seemingly reasoned, text-backed replies.