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 ||
毗湿摩说道：“若在困厄之时，国王以加诸百姓痛苦而征敛财赋，当下或似有利；然其后必成祸患，几同毁灭。此乃一切可资依凭、堪当咨询之审慎智者的定论。”
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.