Shloka 7
Adhyāya 272: Vṛtrasya Dharmiṣṭhatā, Indrasya Mohaḥ, Vasiṣṭha-upadeśaḥ
Vṛtra’s dharmic stature; Indra’s disorientation; Vasiṣṭha’s counsel
व्याजेन चरते धर्ममर्थ व्याजेन रोचते । व्याजेन सिद्धयमानेषु धनेषु कुरुनन्दन
bhīṣma uvāca | vyājena carate dharmam arthaṁ vyājena rocate | vyājena siddhyamāneṣu dhaneṣu kurunandana, uttaraṁ nyāyasambaddhaṁ bravīti vidhicoditam ||
毗湿摩说道：“此人行法也只是借‘正义’为名；他求财亦凭借口与欺诈。若这等欺诈之财竟得逞，噢，俱卢之欢，他便把全部才智都系在那条路上。此后，即使博学的友人、善意的亲近者加以劝止，噢，婆罗多后裔，他仍只渴望作恶；并且对禁止他的人，以经论之辞巧妙拼缀，答以听来‘合乎公正’、‘合乎法度’的辩词。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma warns that once a person normalizes deceit for gain, he begins to disguise adharma as dharma: he clings to successful wrongdoing, rejects sincere counsel, and even weaponizes scriptural language to make his actions appear justified.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira, Bhishma analyzes a moral failure-pattern: a man starts with ‘pretexts’ for righteousness, shifts to deceitful pursuit of wealth, becomes mentally invested in that success, and then answers reprovers with seemingly lawful, reasoned replies drawn from injunctions.