Shloka 44
Treasury Security, Protection of Informants, and the Kalakavṛkṣīya Exemplum (Śānti Parva 83)
न्यायतो दुष्कृते घात: सुकृते न कथंचन । नेह युक्त स्थिरं स्थातुं जवेनैवाव्रजेदू् बुध:,न््यायकी बात तो यह है कि बुराई करनेवालेको ही मारा जाय और पुण्य--श्रेष्ठ कर्म करनेवालेको किसी तरह भी कोई कष्ट न होने पावे, परंतु यहाँ ऐसा नहीं होता; अत: इस राज्यमें स्थिरभावसे निवास करना किसीके लिये भी उचित नहीं है। विद्वान् पुरुषको यहाँसे अति शीघ्र हट जाना चाहिये
nyāyato duṣkṛte ghātaḥ sukṛte na kathaṃcana | neha yuktaṃ sthiraṃ sthātuṃ javenaivāvajed budhaḥ ||
Bhishma said: By the rule of justice, punishment should fall upon the doer of evil, and in no way should the doer of merit suffer harm. Yet in this world it does not happen so. Therefore it is not fitting for anyone to remain here with a sense of permanence; the wise should depart from here with all speed.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma highlights a moral paradox: ideally, justice would ensure that wrongdoers alone suffer and the virtuous remain unharmed, but worldly experience contradicts this. From this mismatch between ideal dharma and lived reality, he draws a practical counsel—do not cling to the world as a stable refuge; the wise cultivate detachment and readiness to depart.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhishthira, Bhishma continues ethical reflection on dharma and the instability of worldly outcomes. This verse frames the world as unreliable in dispensing just results, reinforcing the broader teaching that one should not rely on worldly conditions for lasting security.