Shloka 8

Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच शृणु कौरव्य यो दण्डो व्यवहारो यथा च स: । यस्मिन्‌ हि सर्वमायत्तं स दण्ड इह केवल:,भीष्मजीने कहा--कुरुनन्दन! दण्डका जो स्वरूप है तथा जिस प्रकार उसको “व्यवहार' कहा जाता है, वह सब तुम्हें बताता हूँ; सुनो। इस संसारमें सब कुछ जिसके अधीन है, वही अद्वितीय पदार्थ यहाँ “दण्ड" कहलाता है

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: śṛṇu kauravya yo daṇḍo vyavahāro yathā ca saḥ | yasmin hi sarvam āyattaṃ sa daṇḍa iha kevalaḥ ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: «اسمع يا سليلَ الكورو. سأبيّن لك ما “الدَنْدَا” على الحقيقة، وبأيّ وجهٍ يُتحدَّث عنه أيضًا باسم “فْيَفَهَارَا” (تنظيم الشؤون، والإجراءات القانونية، والإدارة العملية). فإنّ ما تعتمد عليه الأشياء كلُّها في هذا العالم—هو وحده الذي يُسمّى هنا دَنْدَا، القوةُ الفريدةُ التي تسند نظام المجتمع.»

Word by Word

• {'śṛṇu': 'listen

• hear (imperative)', 'kauravya': 'O descendant of Kuru

• address to Yudhiṣṭhira', 'daṇḍaḥ': 'the rod

• royal authority that enforces law and order', 'vyavahāraḥ': 'worldly dealings

• practical governance', 'yathā': 'as

• in what manner', 'saḥ': 'that

• he/it', 'yasmin': 'in which

• upon which', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'sarvam': 'everything', 'āyattam': 'dependent

• subject to', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'kevalaḥ': 'alone

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Kauravya (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Daṇḍa
• Vyavahāra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that daṇḍa—coercive authority expressed as punishment and enforcement—is the indispensable foundation of orderly life; it is also closely tied to vyavahāra, the practical and legal administration through which justice is carried out.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship and peace, Bhishma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and begins explaining the nature of daṇḍa and how it functions as vyavahāra—i.e., the king’s system of governance and adjudication on which society depends.