Shloka 42
Kośa, Bala, and Maryādā: Treasury, Capacity, and Enforceable Limits (कोश-बल-मर्यादा)
एवं कोशस्य महतो ये नरा: परिपन्थिन: । तानहत्वा न पश्यामि सिद्धिमत्र परंतप
evaṁ kośasya mahato ye narāḥ paripanthinaḥ | tān hatvā na paśyāmi siddhim atra paraṁtapa paraṁtapa ||
Bhishma nói: “Những kẻ ngăn trở việc gom góp kho tàng lớn lao này—được tích lũy vì sự che chở và an lạc của muôn dân—chính là kẻ thù trên đường. Nếu không trừ diệt họ, hỡi bậc thiêu đốt quân thù, ta không thấy làm sao công việc này có thể thành tựu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma frames the protection of the realm and the maintenance of public welfare as requiring a strong treasury, and he argues that deliberate obstructors of such a lawful, protective fiscal effort may need to be forcibly removed; otherwise the ruler cannot accomplish the duty of safeguarding the people.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship (rājadharma), Bhishma advises the listener that when people act as ‘paripanthins’—blocking the collection of a major treasury meant for public protection—mere persuasion may not suffice, and he states that success in the task is not seen without decisive punitive action.