Shloka 13

Devanagari script

उद्वेजनेन बन्धेन विरूपकरणेन च । वधदण्डेन ते क्लिश्या न पुरोहितसंसदि,अपराधीको उसका सर्वस्व छीन लेनेका भय दिखाया जाय अथवा उसे कैद कर लिया जाय या उसके किसी अंगको भंग करके उसे कुरूप बना दिया जाय; परंतु प्राणदण्ड देकर उनके कुटुम्बियोंको क्लेश पहुँचाना उचित नहीं है। इसी तरह यदि वे पुरोहित ब्राह्मणकी शरणमें जा चुके हों तो भी राजा उन्हें दण्ड न दे

Transliteration

udvejanena bandhena virūpakaraṇena ca | vadhadaṇḍena te kliśyā na purohitasaṃsadi ||

Translation

قال ديوماتسينا: «لْيُكفَّ أمثالُ هؤلاء بالعِظة والتهديد، وبالحبس، أو بتشويهٍ جسديّ يجعلهم موسومين ظاهرًا؛ ولكن لا يُعذَّبوا بعقوبة القتل، فإنها لا تجلب إلا الكمد لأهليهم. وكذلك، حتى إن احتمَوا بمجلسٍ أو بحمايةِ كاهنٍ برهميّ، فلا ينبغي للملك أن يُنزل بهم العقوبةَ العظمى».

Word by Word

उद्वेजनेनby intimidation/terrorizing

बन्धेनby imprisonment/bondage

विरूपकरणेनby disfigurement/making ugly

चand

वधदण्डेनby the punishment of execution/death-penalty

तेyou (pl.)

क्लिश्याःyou should afflict/torment

नnot

पुरोहितसंसदिin the assembly/court of the royal priest

Speaker

इुमत्सेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dyumatsena

king (rājā)

purohita (royal priest/Brāhmaṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse advises proportional punishment: use deterrence, confinement, or other non-lethal penalties, but avoid the death penalty because it causes broader, unjust suffering—especially to the offender’s family—and should not be applied even when the offender has sought priestly refuge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Dyumatsena instructs on how a king should punish wrongdoing, emphasizing restraint and rejecting capital punishment in this context, including cases involving sanctuary with a Brāhmaṇa priest or in a priestly assembly.