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 ||
Wika ni Bhishma: Kapag tinawag ng isang tao ang hindi naman magnanakaw na “magnanakaw,” nagkakamit siya ng kasalanang doble kaysa sa kasalanan ng pagnanakaw mismo. At ang isang dalagang birhen na, sa sariling loob, bumagsak sa kawalang-puri at naging masama ang asal, ay nagkakamit ng bahagi ng kasalanan ng brahmahatyā (pagpatay sa isang 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.