Shloka 15
अध्याय ७२ — राजधर्मः: प्रजारक्षण, कर-नीति, दण्ड-नीति, अमात्य-नियोजन
Chapter 72 — Royal Duty: protection of subjects, taxation, punishment, and appointments
अर्थमूलो5पि हिंसां च कुरुते स्वयमात्मन: । करैरशास्त्रदृष्टेर्हि मोहात् सम्पीडयन् प्रजा:
arthamūlo 'pi hiṃsāṃ ca kurute svayam ātmanaḥ | karair aśāstradṛṣṭer hi mohāt sampīḍayan prajāḥ ||
Bhishma disse: “Ainda que esteja enraizado na busca de riqueza, o rei que—por delírio—oprime seus súditos ao cobrar tributos contrários à orientação dos śāstras comete violência contra si mesmo; por suas próprias mãos traz a própria ruína.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Taxation must be aligned with śāstra and dharma; when a ruler, driven by greed or delusion, imposes unlawful/excessive taxes and oppresses the people, that oppression rebounds upon him as self-destruction.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira about righteous kingship, warning that a king who burdens his subjects with unscriptural taxes harms his own welfare and ultimately ruins himself.