Shloka 14
Vidurā–Putra Saṃvāda: Utsāha, Kīrti, and Kṣātra Resolve
Udyoga-parva 131
दण्डनीति: स्वधर्मेण चातुर्वर्ण्य नियच्छति । प्रयुक्ता स्वामिना सम्यगधर्मेभ्यश्व॒ यच्छति,राजाकी दण्डनीति यदि उसके द्वारा स्वधर्मके अनुसार प्रयुक्त हुई तो वह चारों वर्णोौंको नियन्त्रणमें रखती और अधर्मसे निवृत्त करती है
daṇḍanītiḥ svadharmeṇa cāturvarṇyaṃ niyacchati | prayuktā svāminā samyag adharmebhyaś ca yacchati ||
قال فايُو: إن سياسة العقاب والحكم (دَنْدَنِيتِي) إذا استُعملت وفق السْوَدْهَرْما، ضبطت الطبقات الأربع وأقامتهم على النظام. وإذا أحسن الحاكم تطبيقها، كفّت الناس عن سلوك الأدهرما.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍanīti (the ruler’s disciplinary power) is ethically legitimate only when aligned with svadharma and applied correctly; then it preserves social order and restrains adharma rather than becoming oppression.
Vāyudeva is instructing about rājadharma: he explains the function of royal punishment/governance as a stabilizing force that regulates the fourfold social order and prevents people from falling into unrighteous conduct when administered properly.