Shloka 80
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
अगोप्तारश्न॒ राजानो बलिषड्भागतस्करा: । समर्थाक्षाप्पदातारस्ते वै निरयगामिन:
agoptāraś ca rājāno bali-ṣaḍbhāga-taskarāḥ | samarthāś cāpy adātāras te vai niraya-gāminaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「民を守らず、しかも民の収入の六分の一を貢として奪う王は盗人に等しい。また、力と財がありながら施しをしない者も同じく、必ず地獄へ赴く。王の収入は、守護の義務と寛施の徳に見合うときにのみ、道として正当となる。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Taxation is justified only when the ruler fulfills dharma: protecting the people and practicing generosity. Taking revenue without protection is equated with theft, and stinginess despite capacity is condemned; both lead to severe karmic consequences.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (especially duties of rulers), he warns about the moral accountability of kings: failure in protection and charity, while still extracting the traditional one-sixth levy, is portrayed as criminal and spiritually ruinous.