Shloka 20
धर्म्यविजय-नियमाः
Rules for Dharmic Victory in Kṣatriya Engagement
अश्रद्दधानश्न भवेद् विनाशमुपगच्छति । सम्बद्धो वारुणै: पाशैरमर्त्य इव मन्यते
aśraddadhānaś ca bhaved vināśam upagacchati | sambaddho vāruṇaiḥ pāśair amartya iva manyate ||
毗湿摩说：失却对达摩之信的人，终将走向毁灭。即便被伐楼那的绳索缚住，他仍自以为不死。罪人以罪业得财而欢欣；他靠盗窃而兴盛，执著于恶行，否认达摩的存在，并嘲笑心地清净之人。当对正道连一丝敬畏也不剩时，罪业本身便驱使他走入毁灭——自诩如神，不老不死，却终究难逃伐楼那之缚。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Loss of faith in dharma leads to moral blindness and eventual ruin; even if a sinner feels invincible, the consequences of wrongdoing (symbolized by Varuṇa’s noose) inevitably bind and bring downfall.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on righteous conduct. Here he describes the psychological arc of a sinner—gaining illicit wealth, mocking the virtuous, denying dharma—and warns that such a person, though imagining immortality, is ultimately caught by the inescapable bonds of moral law.