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
astenaṁ stena ity uktvā dviguṇaṁ pāpam āpnuyāt | tribhāgaṁ brahmahatyāyāḥ kanyā prāpnoti duṣpatī ||
毗湿摩说道：若把并非盗贼之人称作“贼”，其罪过将是盗窃之罪的两倍。又，若一位处女出于自身意愿堕入不贞、行止不端，便要承担“梵杀”（brahmahatyā，杀害婆罗门）之罪的一部分。
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.