Shloka 42
Adhyāya 166: Kṛtaghna-doṣa (कृतघ्नदोषः) — the fault of ingratitude and the limits of expiation
अस्तेन॑ स्तेन इत्युक्त्वा द्विगुणं पापमाप्नुयात् त्रिभागं ब्रह्महत्याया: कन्या प्राप्रोति दुष्पती,जो चोर नहीं है, उसको चोर कह देनेसे मनुष्यको चोरसे दूना पाप लगता है। कुमारी कन्या यदि अपनी इच्छासे चरित्रभ्रष्ट हो जाय तो उसे ब्रह्महत्याका तीन चौथाई पाप भोगना पड़ता है
astenaṁ stena ity uktvā dviguṇaṁ pāpam āpnuyāt | tribhāgaṁ brahmahatyāyāḥ kanyā prāpnoti duṣpatī ||
Bhishma berkata: Jika seseorang memanggil orang yang bukan pencuri sebagai “pencuri”, dia menanggung dosa dua kali ganda daripada dosa mencuri itu sendiri. Dan seorang gadis dara yang, atas kehendaknya sendiri, jatuh ke dalam ketidaksucian—menjadi buruk akhlaknya—menanggung sebahagian daripada dosa brahmahatyā (membunuh seorang brāhmaṇa).
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that wrongful speech—especially falsely branding an innocent person as a thief—creates heavier moral fault than the crime alleged. It stresses accountability for words and the social harm caused by false accusation, and it frames sexual misconduct as carrying severe demerit by comparison with major sins.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he gives a rule-like ethical judgment about the relative gravity of sins, focusing on the consequences of slander/false accusation and on misconduct that violates accepted norms of chastity.