Shloka 21
Sandhi–Vigraha in Āpada: The Mouse and the Cat (सन्धिविग्रहापदि—मूषकमार्जारसंवादः)
ये च राष्ट्रोपरोधेन वृद्धि कुर्वन्ति केचन । तदैव ते<नुमार्यन्ते कुणपे कृमयो यथा,जो लोग राष्ट्रको हानि पहुँचाकर अपनी उजन्नतिके लिये प्रयत्न करते हैं, वे मुर्दोंमें पड़े हुए कीड़ोंके समान उसी क्षण नष्ट हो जाते हैं
ye ca rāṣṭroparodhenā vṛddhiṃ kurvanti kecana | tadaiva te 'numāryante kuṇape kṛmayo yathā ||
Aqueles que buscam o próprio avanço obstruindo e prejudicando o reino são destruídos de imediato—como vermes que perecem num cadáver.
कायव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Personal gain achieved by damaging the kingdom (the public order and welfare) is adharma; it is unstable and leads to swift ruin, like worms that cannot survive apart from decay.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on conduct and governance, the speaker warns against opportunists who obstruct the realm for their own rise, using a stark simile (worms in a corpse) to stress the immediacy and inevitability of their downfall.