Shloka 18
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
तस्मिन प्रवृत्ते सत्रे तु ब्रह्मण: पार्थिवर्षभ । दृष्टरूपप्रधानत्वाद् दण्ड: सो<न्तर्हितो$भवत्
tasmin pravṛtte satre tu brahmaṇaḥ pārthivarṣabha | dṛṣṭarūpapradhānatvād daṇḍaḥ so 'ntarhito 'bhavat ||
قال فاسوهاروما: «يا ثور الملوك، لمّا ابتدأت جلسة القربان (satra) التي أطلقها براهما، اختفى عصا براهما—الدَّنْدَة (daṇḍa). إذ حين صار القربان محكومًا في الغالب بما هو ظاهر للعيان ومشهود، لم يعد ذلك الشعار لسلطان العقوبة باديًا.»
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the disappearance of Brahmā’s daṇḍa (rod of punishment/authority) to suggest that when a sacred undertaking is governed by manifest, properly ordered ritual action, coercive enforcement recedes; visible, disciplined performance itself sustains order.
As Brahmā’s satra begins, the narrative notes a symbolic change: Brahmā’s staff vanishes, explained as a result of the sacrifice’s predominance of directly visible, manifest ritual form and procedure.