Shloka 16

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

Devanagari script

जटी द्विजिहद्वस्ताम्रास्यो मृगराजतनुच्छद: । एतद्‌ रूपं बिभर्त्युग्रंं दण्डो नित्यं दुराधर:

Transliteration

jaṭī dvijihadvastāmrāsyo mṛgarāja-tanucchadaḥ | etad rūpaṃ bibharty ugraṃ daṇḍo nityaṃ durādharaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Mit verfilzten Haaren, in Tigerhaut gekleidet, mit kupferrot schimmerndem Antlitz und bedeckt wie mit dem Leib des Königs der Tiere (des Löwen), trägt er diese grimmige Gestalt. Stets ist in seiner Hand der Stab der Züchtigung, den andere kaum zu ertragen vermögen.“

Word by Word

जटीmatted-haired

द्विजिहद्वस्ताम्रास्यःwhose coppery mouth is covered with (a skin of) a two-tongued serpent

मृगराजतनुच्छदःwhose body-covering is (the skin of) the king of beasts (lion)

एतत्this

रूपम्form

बिभर्तिbears, wears

उग्रम्terrible, fierce

दण्डःstaff; (personified) Punishment/Discipline

नित्यम्always

दुराधरःhard to bear/withstand

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

daṇḍa (staff/rod of chastisement)

tiger hide

lion (mṛgarāja)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights daṇḍa (chastisement/discipline) as a formidable, ever-present instrument of order. It suggests that authority must be strong and difficult to resist, functioning as a constant restraint that upholds dharma and curbs wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he describes a fearsome figure marked by ascetic signs (matted hair, animal-skin garment) and by the ever-present daṇḍa. The description underscores the awe and deterrent power associated with enforcing moral and social order.