Shloka 19
धर्म्यविजय-नियमाः
Rules for Dharmic Victory in Kṣatriya Engagement
स वर्धमान: स्तेयेन पाप: पापे प्रसज्जति । न धर्मोडस्तीति मन्वान: शुचीनवहसन्निव
sa vardhamānaḥ steyena pāpaḥ pāpe prasajjati | na dharmo 'stīti manvānaḥ śucīn avahasann iva |
毗湿摩说：“靠盗窃而兴盛的罪人，愈发纠缠于罪业之中。自以为‘达摩并不存在’，便嘲弄清净而有德之人。他对正道的信心消失，只凭罪业走向毁灭——自诩如神，超越衰败；然而终究仍被伐楼那的绳索所缚。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Prosperity gained through theft strengthens a person’s attachment to wrongdoing; denial of dharma leads to contempt for the virtuous and culminates in inevitable restraint and ruin—symbolized by being caught in Varuṇa’s pāśas (nooses).
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he describes the psychological and ethical downward spiral of a thief: success in stealing breeds further sin, erodes reverence for dharma, and ends in punishment and destruction.