Shloka 20

Adhyāya 159 — Dāna–Dakṣiṇā, Āpaddharma Measures, and Prāyaścitta Classifications

Devanagari script

धर्मस्य द्वियमाणस्य लोभग्रस्तैर्दुरात्मभि: । या या विक्रियते संस्था ततः सापि प्रपद्यते,लोभग्रस्त दुरात्मा पुरुषोंद्वारा अपहृत (विकृत) होनेवाले धर्मकी जो-जो स्थिति बिगड़ जाती या बदल जाती है, वह उसी रूपमें प्रचलित हो जाती है

Transliteration

dharmasya dvīyamāṇasya lobhagrastair durātmabhiḥ | yā yā vikriyate saṃsthā tataḥ sāpi prapadyate ||

Translation

Bhishma berkata: Apabila dharma dipecah-belah dan diputarbelitkan oleh orang jahat yang dikuasai ketamakan, maka apa jua bentuk atau “tatanan yang telah ditetapkan” dalam dharma yang berubah, bentuk yang telah berubah itulah pula diterima dan diikuti sebagai norma yang berkuasa.

Word by Word

धर्मस्यof dharma

द्वियमाणस्यbeing oppressed/overpowered (lit. being held down)

लोभ-ग्रस्तैःby those seized by greed

दुरात्मभिःby evil-souled persons

याwhich

याwhich (again; whichever)

विक्रियतेis altered / is perverted / is changed

संस्थाstate/condition/institution

ततःthereupon / then / from that

साthat (she/it)

अपिalso / even

प्रपद्यतेcomes to be / becomes established / prevails

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

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?

Greed-driven, unscrupulous people can distort dharma so thoroughly that the distorted version becomes socially accepted as the new ‘normal’; therefore one must be vigilant about how moral norms are reshaped by selfish interests.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on righteous conduct and governance, Bhīṣma warns that when society is dominated by greed and bad character, established standards of dharma get modified, and those modifications quickly become the prevailing practice.