Shloka 102
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
दण्डनीतिं पुरस्कृत्य विजाननू क्षत्रिय: सदा । अनवाप्तं च लिप्सेत लब्धं च परिपालयेत्
daṇḍanītiṃ puraskṛtya vijānannū kṣatriyaḥ sadā | anavāptaṃ ca lipseta labdhaṃ ca paripālayet ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Indem er die daṇḍanīti — die Lehre von Regierung und Strafe — an die Spitze stellt, soll ein Kṣatriya stets mit Unterscheidungsvermögen handeln: Er soll nach dem streben, was noch nicht gesichert ist, und das Bewahrte schützen und erhalten.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler should make daṇḍanīti (just governance and enforcement) his guiding framework, combining clear judgment with two duties: to pursue what is necessary but not yet secured, and to safeguard what has already been achieved.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma. Here he summarizes a practical maxim of kingship: disciplined statecraft, strategic acquisition, and vigilant preservation of the realm’s gains.