Shloka 9
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
दुःखादान इह होष स्यात् तु पश्चात् क्षयोपम: । अभिगम्यमतीनां हि सर्वासामेव निश्चय:
duḥkhādāna iha hoṣa syāt tu paścāt kṣayopamaḥ | abhigamyamatīnāṃ hi sarvāsām eva niścayaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: «Kung sa panahon ng kagipitan ang isang hari ay kumukuha ng buwis sa pamamagitan ng pagpapahirap sa kanyang mga nasasakupan, maaaring magmukhang kapaki-pakinabang iyon sa sandali; ngunit sa huli’y nagiging kapahamakan, na wari’y ganap na pagwasak. Ito ang tiyak na hatol ng lahat ng maingat na isipan na karapat-dapat sangguniin.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in emergencies, extracting wealth by inflicting suffering on the people is short-term gain that leads to long-term ruin; wise counsel rejects oppressive taxation as contrary to sound kingship.
In the Shanti Parva discourse on rajadharma, Bhishma instructs Yudhishthira on statecraft and moral governance, warning that coercive exactions during crises ultimately destroy the king’s stability and legitimacy.