Shloka 53
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दण्ड: प्रत्ययदृष्टोडपि व्यवहारात्मक: स्मृत: । व्यवहार: स्मृतो यश्चव॒ स वेदविषयात्मक:
daṇḍaḥ pratyayadṛṣṭo 'pi vyavahārātmakaḥ smṛtaḥ | vyavahāraḥ smṛto yaś ca sa vedaviṣayātmakaḥ ||
ভীষ্ম ক’লে— দণ্ড যদিও বিশ্বাসৰ আধাৰত দেখা যায়, তথাপি তাকো ব্যৱহাৰ (ন্যায়-প্ৰক্ৰিয়া) স্বৰূপ বুলিয়েই স್ಮৃতিত কোৱা হৈছে। আৰু যাক ব্যৱহাৰ বুলি মানা হয়, সেয়া বেদবিষয়ৰ বাহিৰ নহয়; ই বেদীয় নীতিতেই প্ৰতিষ্ঠিত।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa) and judicial practice (vyavahāra), even when based on credible trust or accepted conviction, are not arbitrary; they are to be treated as dharmic instruments rooted in Vedic authority and meant to uphold order and justice.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma explains to the inquirer that the king’s punitive power and the mechanisms of adjudication belong to the recognized sphere of lawful conduct, and that this sphere is continuous with Vedic norms rather than separate from them.