Shloka 31

Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद

Devanagari script

तीक्ष्णता मृदुता मृत्युरागमानागमौ तथा । विरोधश्चाविरोधश्व्‌ कार्याकार्ये बलाबले

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | tīkṣṇatā mṛdutā mṛtyur āgamānāgamau tathā | virodhaś cāvirodhaś ca kāryākārye balābale | arthānarthau sukha-duḥkhe dharmādharmau balābale | daurbhāgya-saubhāgye puṇya-pāpe guṇāvaguṇau kāmākāmau | ṛtu-māsau dina-rātrau kṣaṇaḥ pramādāpramādau harṣa-krodhau śama-damau | daiva-puruṣārthau bandha-mokṣau bhayābhaye hiṃsāhiṃse tapa-yajñau saṃyamaḥ | viṣāviṣe ādy-anta-madhye kārya-vistāraḥ madaḥ asāvadhānatā darpaḥ dambhaḥ dhairyam | nītī-anītī śakty-aśaktī mānaḥ stabdhatā vyayāvyaye vinayaḥ dānam | kālākālau satyāsatye jñānaṃ śraddhāśraddhe akarmaṇyatā udyogaḥ | lābhahānī jayaparājayau tīkṣṇatā-mṛdutā mṛtyuḥ ānā-jānaṃ virodhāvirodhau | kartavyākartavye sabalatā-nirbalatā asūyānasūye dharmādharmau lajjālajje | sampatti-vipattī sthānaṃ tejaḥ karma pāṇḍityaṃ vāk-śaktiḥ tathā tattva-bodhaḥ—ete sarve daṇḍasyaiva nāma-rūpāṇi bahūni | kurunandana! evaṃ jagati daṇḍasya bahavo rūpāṇi ||

Translation

ভীষ্ম বললেন—তীক্ষ্ণতা ও কোমলতা, মৃত্যু, আগমন ও অনাগমন, বিরোধ ও অবিরোধ, কর্তব্য ও অকর্তব্য, বল ও অবল—হে কুরুনন্দন! এগুলি, আর লাভ-ক্ষতি, সুখ-দুঃখ, ধর্ম-অধর্ম, পুণ্য-পাপ, গুণ-অগুণ, কাম-অকাম প্রভৃতি অগণিত দ্বন্দ্ব—সবই দণ্ডের (শাসন-নিয়মন ও প্রতিফল) নানা নাম ও রূপ। এইভাবে দণ্ড এই জগতে অসংখ্য রূপে প্রতিভাত হয়।

Word by Word

• तीक्ष्णता: sharpness, severity
• तीक्ष्णता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीक्ष्णता (तीक्ष्ण)
• Form: F, Nominative, Singular

• मृदुता: softness, gentleness
• मृदुता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृदुता (मृदु)
• Form: F, Nominative, Singular

• मृत्युः: death
• मृत्युः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृत्यु
• Form: M, Nominative, Singular

• आगम: coming, arrival
• आगम: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगम
• Form: M, Nominative, Singular

• अनागमौ: non-arrival; (with आगम) coming and not-coming
• अनागमौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनागम
• Form: M, Nominative, Dual

• तथा: and also, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• विरोधः: opposition, conflict
• विरोधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विरोध
• Form: M, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अविरोधः: non-opposition, concord
• अविरोधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अविरोध
• Form: M, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• कार्य: what ought to be done
• कार्य: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्य
• Form: N, Nominative, Dual

• अकार्ये: what ought not to be done
• अकार्ये: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकार्य
• Form: N, Nominative, Dual

• बल: strength
• बल: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: N, Nominative, Dual

• अबले: weakness
• अबले: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अबल
• Form: N, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• Kurunandana (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that daṇḍa—understood as the principle of restraint, correction, and governance—pervades worldly life. The many opposites (gentle/harsh, gain/loss, dharma/adharma, vigilance/heedlessness, etc.) are presented as diverse manifestations through which order is maintained and conduct is shaped.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva dialogue on kingship and ethics, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he enumerates a long series of paired conditions and moral-psychological states to show that the king’s instrument of rule—daṇḍa—operates across all domains of life, not merely as physical punishment but as a comprehensive framework of regulation and discernment.