Shloka 12
चिरकारि-उपाख्यानम् / The Exemplum of Cirakārī: Deliberation Before Irreversible Action
ते चेन्मिथो<धृतिं कुर्युर्विनश्येयुरसंशयम् । न हर्तव्यं परधनमिति धर्म: सनातन:
te cen mitho dhṛtiṁ kuryur vinaśyeyur asaṁśayam | na hartavyaṁ paradhanam iti dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: Jika orang-orang saling membuat tekad keras kepala (untuk merampas dan membalas), niscaya mereka akan binasa. Karena itu jangan mengambil harta orang lain—itulah dharma yang abadi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that taking another’s property is contrary to eternal dharma; when people harden into mutual, retaliatory resolve, society collapses into certain ruin.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct and social ethics; here he warns against cycles of mutual obstinacy and affirms the perennial rule against appropriating others’ wealth.