Shloka 9
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
योडनाहिताग्नि: शतगुरयज्वा च सहस्रगुः । तयोरपि कुट॒म्बा भ्यामाहरेदविचारयन्,जिस वैश्यके पास एक सौ गौएँ हों और वह अग्निहोत्र न करता हो, तथा जिसके पास एक हजार गौएँ हों और वह यज्ञ न करता हो, उन दोनोंके कुटुम्बोंसे राजा बिना विचारे ही धन उठा लावे
yo 'n-āhitāgniḥ śata-gur-ayajvā ca sahasra-guḥ | tayor api kuṭumbābhyām āhared avicārayan ||
ಭೀಷ್ಮನು ಹೇಳಿದರು—ನೂರು ಹಸುಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಅಗ್ನಿಹೋತ್ರವನ್ನು ಪಾಲಿಸದ ವೈಶ್ಯನಿಂದಲೂ, ಸಾವಿರ ಹಸುಗಳಿದ್ದರೂ ಯಜ್ಞವನ್ನು ಮಾಡದ ವೈಶ್ಯನಿಂದಲೂ—ಈ ಇಬ್ಬರ ಕುಟುಂಬಗಳಿಂದ ರಾಜನು ಸಂಶಯವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಧನವನ್ನು ತೆಗೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Wealth and social standing carry obligatory duties (maintaining sacred fires, performing sacrifices). When a householder—especially one prosperous in cattle—neglects these dharmic responsibilities, the king may enforce dharma through fiscal measures, taking wealth from such households as a corrective and as protection of the moral order.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction on rājadharma in the Śānti Parva, he gives a concrete rule: two prosperous Vaiśyas are described—one with a hundred cows who does not keep the sacred fires, and one with a thousand cows who does not perform sacrifices. Bhīṣma states that the king should levy/take wealth from both households without hesitation.