Shloka 24
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दण्ड सर्वत्र व्यापक होनेके कारण भगवान् विष्णु है और नरों (मनुष्यों) का अयन (आश्रय) होनेसे नारायण कहलाता है। वह प्रभावशाली होनेसे प्रभु और सदा महत् रूप धारण करता है, इसलिये महान् पुरुष कहलाता है ।। तथोक्ता ब्रह्मकन्येति लक्ष्मी्वृत्ति: सरस्वती । दण्डनीतिर्जगद्धात्री दण्डो हि बहुविग्रह:
daṇḍaḥ sarvatra vyāpakaḥ, tena bhagavān viṣṇuḥ; narāṇām ayanaṃ (āśrayaḥ) iti nārāyaṇaḥ. sa prabhāvavān iti prabhuḥ, sadā mahat-rūpaṃ dhārayatīti mahān puruṣa ucyate. tathoktā brahma-kanyeti lakṣmī-vṛttiḥ sarasvatī; daṇḍa-nītiḥ jagad-dhātrī, daṇḍo hi bahu-vigrahaḥ.
Bhishma explains that the Lord is called Viṣṇu because the principle of daṇḍa—royal discipline and corrective power—pervades everywhere. He is called Nārāyaṇa because he is the refuge and resting-place of human beings. Because he is mighty in influence he is ‘Prabhu’ (the sovereign), and because he ever assumes the vast, exalted form he is spoken of as the ‘Great Person’. In the same way, Sarasvatī is described as the ‘daughter of Brahmā’ in her function as Lakṣmī (prosperity and auspicious power). The science of governance through daṇḍa is the sustainer of the world, for daṇḍa takes many forms.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Order in society is sustained by daṇḍa—disciplined authority applied as corrective justice. Bhīṣma links this political-ethical principle to divine sovereignty: the Lord is ‘Viṣṇu’ as the all-pervading power behind order, and ‘Nārāyaṇa’ as the refuge of people. Daṇḍa is not merely punishment but a multiform instrument of dharma when rightly used.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (the duties of kings). Here he explains the theological and ethical grounding of governance: divine names are interpreted through their functions, and daṇḍanīti is praised as world-sustaining because it preserves stability, protects the weak, and restrains wrongdoing.