Shloka 12
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
न मूलघात: कर्तव्यो नैष धर्म: सनातन: । अपि स्वल्पवधेनैव प्रायश्षित्तं विधीयते
dyumatsena uvāca |
na mūlaghātaḥ kartavyo naiṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ |
api svalpavadhenaiva prāyaścittaṃ vidhīyate ||
দ্যুমৎসেনে ক’লে—মূলঘাত, অৰ্থাৎ সম্পূৰ্ণ উচ্ছেদ কৰা উচিত নহয়; ই সনাতন ধৰ্ম নহয়। অপৰাধৰ অনুপাতে লঘু দণ্ডেই প্ৰায়শ্চিত্ত সম্পন্ন হয়; তাতেই পাপক্ষয় হয়।
इुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment should be proportionate and corrective, not exterminatory. Uprooting a person or group through total destruction is rejected as contrary to sanātana-dharma; mild, fitting chastisement can function as prāyaścitta (moral expiation) for wrongdoing.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Dyumatsena offers counsel on governance and moral discipline, arguing against ‘root-destruction’ (mūlaghāta) and in favor of measured penalties that reform and purify the offender.