Shloka 48
ईश्वरेण प्रयत्नेन कारणात् क्षत्रियस्य च | दण्डो दत्त: समानात्मा दण्डो हीद॑ सनातनम्
īśvareṇa prayatnena kāraṇāt kṣatriyasya ca | daṇḍo dattaḥ samānātmā daṇḍo hīdaṁ sanātanam ||
قال بهيشما: «بمقتضى أمر الربّ وبسعي الإنسان المتعمَّد—ولأن ذلك هو السبب والواجب المعيَّن للكشترِيّا (Kṣatriya)—أُقيم الدَّنْدَ (daṇḍa)، وهو في جوهره غير متحيّز. حقّاً إن مبدأ الدَّنْدَ هذا أبديّ في هذا العالم.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa—lawful coercion and punishment—is a timeless principle meant to uphold dharma. It is to be applied with an impartial nature (samānātmā), and its administration is especially tied to the Kṣatriya’s role in protecting social order, under the overarching ordinance of Īśvara and through human effort.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma is teaching Yudhiṣṭhira about kingship and justice. Here he explains why the power to punish exists, grounding it in divine ordinance, practical effort, and the Kṣatriya’s governing responsibility.