Shloka 28
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
अन्तश्नादिश्व मध्यं च कृत्यानां च प्रपठडचनम् | मद: प्रमादो दर्पश्ष दम्भो धैर्य नयानयौ
bhīṣma uvāca | antaḥśnādiś ca madhyaṃ ca kṛtyānāṃ ca prapaṭhaḍacanam | madaḥ pramādo darpaś ca dambho dhairyaṃ nayānayau |
ভীষ্মে ক’লে—অন্তঃ, আদি আৰু মধ্য; লগতে কৃত্যসমূহৰ বিস্তাৰ; মদ, প্ৰমাদ, দৰ্প, দম্ভ, ধৈৰ্য—আৰু নীতি-অনীতি—এই সকলো, আৰু এনে অগণিত বিপৰীত যুগল, দণ্ডৰেই নানা নাম আৰু ৰূপ বুলি কোৱা হয়। হে কুৰুশ্ৰেষ্ঠ! এইদৰে জগতত দণ্ড বহু প্ৰকাৰেই প্ৰকাশ পায়।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa (restraint/punitive authority) is not a single act but a broad governing principle that manifests through many conditions and opposites—virtue and vice, prudence and folly, strength and weakness—shaping social order and personal conduct.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rāja-dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining that the ruler’s instrument of order (daṇḍa) has many forms and is reflected in diverse human qualities and outcomes.