Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
न हि वैराग्निरुद्धूत: कर्म चाप्यपराधजम् | शाम्यत्यदग्ध्वा नृपते विना होकतरक्षयात्
na hi vairāgnir uddhūtaḥ karma cāpy aparādhajam | śāmyaty adagdhvā nṛpate vinā hokatarakṣayāt ||
Wahai Raja, api permusuhan yang telah dikipas menyala, dan akibat yang lahir daripada kesalahan, tidak akan reda sebelum ia membakar habis bahan bakarnya. Ia tidak padam melainkan apabila punca yang menyalakannya telah susut dan lenyap.
ब्रह्मदत्त उवाच
Enmity and the karmic results of wrongdoing have momentum: once ignited, they do not simply fade by wish or denial. They cease only when their sustaining causes—fuel, provocations, and unresolved offenses—are exhausted or consciously removed.
Brahmadatta addresses a king, using the metaphor of a fire to counsel about hostility and culpable action: conflict and fault-generated consequences persist until they ‘burn out’—implying the need for restraint, atonement, or removal of the causes that keep them alive.