Shloka 9
Daṇḍa-svarūpa-nirūpaṇa
The Nature, Forms, and Function of Daṇḍa
नित्यमुद्यतदण्ड: स्यादाचरेदप्रमादत: । लोके चायव्ययौ दृष्टवा बृहद्वृक्षमिवास्रवत्,वह सदा अपराधियोंको दण्ड देनेके लिये उद्यत रहे, प्रत्येक कार्य सावधानीके साथ करे, लोगोंके आय-व्यय देखकर ताड़के वृक्षसे रस निकालनेकी भाँति उनसे धनरूपी रस ले (अर्थात् जैसे उस रसके लिये पेड़को काट नहीं दिया जाता, उसी प्रकार प्रजाका उच्छेद न करे)
nityam udyatadaṇḍaḥ syād ācaret apramādataḥ | loke cāyavyayau dṛṣṭvā bṛhadvṛkṣam ivāsravat ||
Bhishma said: “A king should always be ready to wield punishment, and he should act in every matter with vigilant care. Observing the people’s income and expenditure, he should draw revenue from them as one draws sap from a great tree—taking what is due without destroying the source, and never bringing about the ruin of his subjects.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler must combine firm law-enforcement with careful, non-exploitative administration: be ever ready to punish wrongdoing, act without negligence, and collect revenue in a sustainable way that does not harm or uproot the subjects who are the kingdom’s source of prosperity.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on kingship (rājadharma), Bhishma continues advising the king on practical governance—maintaining readiness to punish offenders, exercising constant vigilance, and managing taxation by assessing the people’s finances and extracting revenue gently, like drawing sap from a tree without cutting it down.