Shloka 19

Devanagari script

स वर्धमान: स्तेयेन पाप: पापे प्रसज्जति । न धर्मोडस्तीति मन्वान: शुचीनवहसन्निव,पापी मनुष्य पापकर्मके द्वारा धन पाकर हर्षसे खिल उठता है। वह पापी चोरीसे ही बढ़ता हुआ पापमें आसक्त हो जाता है और यह समझकर कि धर्म है ही नहीं, पवित्रात्मा पुरुषोंकी हँसी उड़ाता है। धर्ममें उसकी तनिक भी श्रद्धा नहीं रह जाती और पापके ही द्वारा वह विनाशके मुखमें जा पड़ता है। वह अपनेको देवताओं-सा अजर-अमर मानता है; परंतु उसे वरुणके पाशोंमें बँधना पड़ता है

Transliteration

sa vardhamānaḥ steyena pāpaḥ pāpe prasajjati | na dharmo 'stīti manvānaḥ śucīn avahasann iva |

Translation

ភីෂ្មៈបានមានព្រះបន្ទូលថា៖ មនុស្សបាបដែលកើនឡើងដោយការលួច នឹងកាន់តែជាប់ពាក់ព័ន្ធនឹងបាប។ ជឿថា «ធម៌មិនមានទេ» គេប្រមាថអ្នកបរិសុទ្ធ និងអ្នកមានគុណធម៌។ សេចក្តីជំនឿលើធម៌រលាយបាត់ ហើយដោយបាបតែប៉ុណ្ណោះ គេឆ្ពោះទៅរកវិនាស—ស្រមៃខ្លួនដូចទេវតា មិនចាស់មិនស្លាប់ ប៉ុន្តែចុងក្រោយត្រូវចងដោយបាសរបស់វរុណៈ។

Word by Word

सःhe

वर्धमानःgrowing, increasing

स्तेयेनby theft

पापःa sinner; sinful man

पापेin sin

प्रसज्जतिbecomes attached; clings

नnot

धर्मःdharma; righteousness

उदस्तिexists (at all); is present

इतिthus

मन्वानःthinking, believing

शुचीन्pure (men)

अवहसन्mocking, deriding

इवas if, like

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Varuṇa

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Prosperity gained through theft strengthens a person’s attachment to wrongdoing; denial of dharma leads to contempt for the virtuous and culminates in inevitable restraint and ruin—symbolized by being caught in Varuṇa’s pāśas (nooses).

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he describes the psychological and ethical downward spiral of a thief: success in stealing breeds further sin, erodes reverence for dharma, and ends in punishment and destruction.