Mahabharata 12.68.52

12.68.52

naśyedabhimṛśansadyo mṛgaḥ kūṭamiva spṛśan |
ātmasvamiva saṃrakṣedrājasvamiha buddhimān || 52 ||

No man, by acting against the king, can ever make himself happy, even if he happens to be the king's son or brother or companion or one whom the king regards as his second self. Fire, having the wind for his urger, blazing forth (among articles that are inflammable), may leave a remnant. The wrath of the king, however, leaves not anything to the person that incurs it. Whatever belongs to the king should be avoided from distance. One should turn away from what belongs to the king as he would from death itself. A person by appropriating what belongs to the king speedily meets with destruction like a deer upon touching poison. The man of intelligence should protect as his own what belongs to the kin.. They that appropriate wealth belonging to the king sink senseless into a deep hell of eternal gloom and infamy. Who is there that will not worship the king who is adored by such terms as delighter of the people, giver of happiness, possessor of prosperity, the foremost of all, healer of injuries, lord of earth, and protector of men? That man, therefore, who desires his own prosperity, who observes all wholesome restraints, who has his soul under control, who is the master of his passions, who is possessed of intelligence and memory, and who is clever (in the transaction of business), should always be attached to the king.