Shloka 31
धृतराष्ट्रस्य पश्चात्तापः तथा वनप्रस्थानानुज्ञा | Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Remorse and Request for Forest-Retirement
“जो दूसरोंसे घूस लेनेकी रुचि रखते हों, परायी स्त्रियोंसे जिनका सम्पर्क हो, जो विशेषत: कठोर दण्ड देनेके पक्षपाती हों, झूठा फैसला देते हों, जो कटुवादी, लोभी, दूसरोंका धन हड़पनेवाले, दुस्साहसी, सभाभवन और उद्यान आदिको नष्ट करनेवाले तथा सभी वर्णके लोगोंको कलंकित करनेवाले हों, उन न्यायाधिकारियोंको देश-कालका ध्यान रखते हुए सुवर्णदण्ड अथवा प्राणदण्डके द्वारा दण्डित करना चाहिये
vaiśampāyana uvāca—ye parebhyo gṛhṇanti ghūṣam (lāñcham) iti rucim āśritāḥ, ye parastrīsaṃsargāḥ, ye viśeṣataḥ kaṭhoradaṇḍapravṛttāḥ, ye mṛṣā nirṇayaṃ kurvanti, ye kaṭuvādinaḥ, lobhinaḥ, paradhanāpahāriṇaḥ, dussāhasinaḥ, sabhābhavana-udyānādīnāṃ nāśakāḥ, sarvavarṇānāṃ ca lokānāṃ kalaṅkakārakāḥ—tān nyāyādhikāriṇaḥ deśa-kālaṃ vicārya suvarṇadaṇḍena vā prāṇadaṇḍena vā daṇḍayet.
Vaiśampāyana said: “Those judicial officers who delight in taking bribes, who consort with other men’s wives, who are especially inclined to inflict harsh punishments, who deliver false judgments, who speak bitterly, who are greedy, who seize the wealth of others, who are recklessly audacious, who destroy assembly-halls, buildings, and pleasure-gardens, and who bring disgrace upon people of every social order—such officials, with due regard to place and time, should be punished either by a fine in gold or by the penalty of life. The passage frames justice as a moral trust: when judges themselves become agents of corruption and social ruin, the king’s duty is to restore dharma through proportionate, context-sensitive punishment.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच