Shloka 39
आपपत्सु विहितं स्तैन्यं विशिष्टसममहीनतः । विप्रेण प्राणरक्षार्थ कर्तव्यमिति निश्चय:,“आपत्तिकालमें प्राणरक्षाके लिये ब्राह्मणको श्रेष्ठ, समान तथा हीन मनुष्यके घरसे चोरी कर लेना उचित है, यह शास्त्रका निश्चित विधान है
āpapatsu vihitaṃ stainyaṃ viśiṣṭa-sama-mahīnataḥ | vipreṇa prāṇarakṣārthaṃ kartavyam iti niścayaḥ ||
ಆಪತ್ತಿನ ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಣರಕ್ಷಣಾರ್ಥ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮಣನು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ, ಸಮ ಅಥವಾ ಹೀನ—ಯಾರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಗುಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಸಮ್ಮತ; ಇದೇ ಧರ್ಮನಿಶ್ಚಯ.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches āpaddharma: in extreme distress, preserving life can override ordinary prohibitions. For a brāhmaṇa facing life-threatening need, taking property by stealth is treated as śāstra-sanctioned in that emergency, regardless of the donor’s social rank.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma lays down rules for conduct during crises. Here he states a specific exception to normal moral law—permitting theft for survival—framing it as a definitive scriptural determination for times of calamity.