Shloka 27
अध्याय ५७ — राज्ञः नित्यप्रयत्नः, रक्षा-प्रधानता, तथा त्याग-नीतिः
Chapter 57: Constant Royal Vigilance, Primacy of Protection, and Principles of Dismissal
सर्वाभिशड्की नृपतिर्यश्व सर्वहरो भवेत् । स क्षिप्रमनजुर्लुब्ध: स्वजनेनैव बध्यते
sarvābhiśaṅkī nṛpatir yaś ca sarvaharo bhavet | sa kṣipram anṛjur lubdhaḥ svajanenaiva badhyate ||
毗湿摩说道：若国王疑忌众人，且化为掠夺一切之人——夺取臣民的财物与权利——如此贪婪而奸狡的统治者，必将很快被自己的人民制止并推翻。其教诲在于：以不信任与没收为根基的治理会摧毁正当性，而君王的覆亡正出自他所伤害的共同体。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must not govern through blanket suspicion and predatory seizure of subjects’ property; greed and crookedness erode trust and invite collective resistance, leading to the ruler’s swift downfall at the hands of his own people.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on rajadharma, Bhishma warns Yudhishthira about the fate of an oppressive king: when a ruler treats everyone as suspect and becomes a universal confiscator, his own community ultimately restrains and destroys him.