Shloka 22
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
असंगो रुद्रतनयो मनुर्ज्येष्ठ: शिवंकर: । नामान्येतानि दण्डस्य कीर्तितानि युधिछिर
asaṅgo rudratanayo manur jyeṣṭhaḥ śivaṃkaraḥ | nāmāny etāni daṇḍasya kīrtitāni yudhiṣṭhira ||
Bhīṣma said: “Asaṅga, Rudra’s son, Manu the eldest, and Śivaṃkara—these are the names by which Daṇḍa (the power of punishment and governance) is celebrated, O Yudhiṣṭhira.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa—royal authority expressed as discipline and punishment—is not merely coercion; it is a dharmic principle with revered, tradition-sanctioned names. By invoking epithets like ‘Asaṅga’ (unattached) and ‘Śivaṃkara’ (welfare-making), the verse implies that punishment must be impartial and aimed at public good, not personal passion.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue on rājadharma, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira about the nature of governance. Here he lists traditional appellations of Daṇḍa, framing the king’s punitive power as a sacred, ethically constrained instrument of order.