Shloka 7
अविश्वास-निति: ब्रह्मदत्त–पूजनी-संवादः
Policy of Caution: The Brahmadatta–Pūjanī Dialogue
असाधुभ्यो<र्थमादाय साधुभ्यो य: प्रयच्छति । आत्मानं संक्रमं कृत्वा कृत्स्नधर्मविदेव सः
asādhubhyo 'rtham ādāya sādhubhyo yaḥ prayacchati | ātmānaṃ saṅkramaṃ kṛtvā kṛtsnadharmavideva saḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : Celui qui prend la richesse aux méchants et la donne aux vertueux—faisant de lui-même un pont pour que d’autres passent—doit être tenu pour celui qui connaît véritablement tout le dharma. Le verset présente la royauté juste comme une redistribution morale active : réfréner les fauteurs de tort et soutenir les bons, non pour un profit personnel, mais pour la protection et l’élévation de la société.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler (or moral agent) may righteously confiscate wealth from the wicked and redistribute it to the virtuous when done as an act of dharma—protecting society, curbing wrongdoing, and supporting the good—without selfish motive.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma teaches Yudhishthira principles of righteous rule, praising the king who restrains wrongdoers and strengthens the virtuous, calling such a person a true knower of dharma.