Shloka 26
Kīṭopākhyāna: Prajā-pālana as Kṣatra-vrata and the Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
घातको वध्यते नित्यं तथा वध्यति भक्षिता । आक्रोष्टा क्रुध्यते राजंस्तथा द्वेष्यत्वमाप्तुते
ghātako vadhyate nityaṃ tathā vadhyati bhakṣitā | ākroṣṭā krudhyate rājan tathā dveṣyatvam āpnute ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，杀人者终将被杀；同样，被食者亦将转而杀食者。又，辱骂他人者，反而成为他人愤怒与憎恨的对象。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions rebound upon the doer: violence invites counter-violence, and abusive speech brings anger and hatred back upon the speaker. The verse frames this as a moral law of retribution (karma) that discourages harm in deed and word.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he warns about the cyclical consequences of killing and of insulting others, emphasizing that one’s conduct shapes the hostility one later faces.