Shloka 4
Kāpavya-carita (कापव्यचरित) — Reforming Dasyus through Regulated Rāja-Dharma
असाधुभ्यो<र्थमादाय साधुभ्यो य: प्रयच्छति । आत्मानं संक्रमं कृत्वा कृच्छूधर्मविदेव सः,जो अपनेको सेतु बनाकर दुष्ट पुरुषोंसे धन लेकर श्रेष्ठ पुरुषोंको देता है, वह आपद्धर्मका ज्ञाता है
Bhīṣma uvāca: asādhubhyo 'rtham ādāya sādhubhyo yaḥ prayacchati | ātmānaṃ saṅkramaṃ kṛtvā kṛcchradharmavideva saḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Celui qui prend la richesse aux méchants et la donne aux vertueux—se faisant lui-même “pont” pour ce transfert—celui-là est véritablement connaisseur du dharma en temps de détresse (āpaddharma), quand il faut faire des choix difficiles pour protéger les bons et maintenir l’ordre.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
In extraordinary distress (āpaddharma), actions normally questionable—like taking wealth—can be ethically justified if directed against the wicked and used to protect and support the virtuous. The emphasis is on intention, target (the unrighteous), and outcome (sustaining the righteous), framed as a difficult but dharmic choice.
Bhishma, instructing on dharma in the Shanti Parva, explains a principle of conduct for crisis situations: a person may act as a ‘bridge’ (saṅkrama) by transferring resources from harmful people to good people, and such discernment marks one as knowledgeable in the hard law of emergency ethics.