Shloka 27
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दैवं पुरुषकारश्न मोक्षामोक्षौ भयाभये । हिंसाहिंसे तपो यज्ञ: संयमो5थ विषाविषम्,अर्थ-अनर्थ, सुख-दुःख, धर्म-अधर्म, बल-अबल, दौर्भाग्य-सौभाग्य, पुण्य-पाप, गुण- अवगुण, काम-अकाम, ऋतु-मास, दिन-रात, क्षण, प्रमाद-अप्रमाद, हर्ष-क्रोध, शम-दम, दैव-पुरुषार्थ, बन्ध-मोक्ष, भय-अभय, हिंसा-अहिंसा, तप-यज्ञ, संयम, विष-अविष, आदि, अन्त, मध्य, कार्यविस्तार, मद, असावधानता, दर्प, दम्भ, धैर्य, नीति-अनीति, शक्ति- अशक्ति, मान, स्तब्धता, व्यय-अव्यय, विनय, दान, काल-अकाल, सत्य-असत्य, ज्ञान, श्रद्धा-अश्रद्धा, अकर्मण्यता, उद्योग, लाभ-हानि, जय-पराजय, तीक्ष्णता-मृदुता, मृत्यु, आना-जाना, विरोध-अविरोध, कर्तव्य-अकर्तव्य, सबलता-निर्बलता, असूया-अनसूया, धर्म- अधर्म, लज्जा-अलज्जा, सम्पत्ति-विपत्ति, स्थान, तेज, कर्म, पाण्डित्य, वाकृशक्ति तथा तत्त्ववोध--ये सब दण्डके ही अनेक नाम और रूप हैं। कुरुनन्दन! इस प्रकार इस जगतमें दण्डके बहुत-से रूप हैं
bhīṣma uvāca | daivaṃ puruṣakāraś ca mokṣāmokṣau bhayābhaye | hiṃsāhiṃse tapo yajñaḥ saṃyamo 'tha viṣāviṣam |
Bhishma said: Fate and human effort; liberation and bondage; fear and fearlessness; violence and non-violence; austerity and sacrifice; self-restraint; poison and antidote—these and countless other paired conditions are all but many names and forms of the rod of chastisement (daṇḍa), by which the world is governed. O best of the Kurus, thus the power of daṇḍa appears in innumerable shapes within this world.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that the world’s moral and experiential opposites—fate/effort, bondage/liberation, fear/fearlessness, violence/non-violence, austerity/sacrifice, restraint, poison/antidote—are expressions of daṇḍa: the regulating force that disciplines beings and sustains order. Ethical life and political order both depend on recognizing and aligning with this principle of restraint.
In the Śānti Parva, Bhishma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and statecraft after the war. Here he frames a wide range of human conditions and moral choices as manifestations of daṇḍa (governing discipline), emphasizing how order in society and in the individual is maintained through regulation and consequence.