Shloka 4
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
प्रभो! देवता, ऋषि, पितर, महात्मा, यक्ष, राक्षस, पिशाच तथा साध्यगण एवं पशु- पक्षियोंकी योनिमें निवास करनेवाले जगत्के समस्त प्राणियोंके लिये भी सर्वव्यापी महातेजस्वी दण्ड ही कल्याणका साधन है ।।
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Prabho! devatā-ṛṣi-pitaro mahātmānaḥ yakṣa-rākṣasa-piśācāḥ tathā sādhyagaṇāḥ evaṃ paśu-pakṣīṇāṃ yoniṣu nivāsinaś ca jagataḥ samastaprāṇinaḥ prati sarvavyāpī mahātejasvī daṇḍa eva kalyāṇasya sādhanam. Ity evam ukte bhavatā daṇḍe vai sacarācaram, paśyatā lokam āsaktaṃ sasurāsuramānuṣam; etad icchāmy ahaṃ jñātuṃ tattvena, bharatarṣabha.
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Lord, for all beings in the world—gods, seers, ancestors, great souls, yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, the Sādhyas, and even those dwelling in the wombs of beasts and birds—the all-pervading, mighty Daṇḍa (the power of lawful punishment and restraint) alone is a means to welfare. Since you have thus declared that the entire moving and unmoving universe rests upon Daṇḍa, while observing how the world clings to its desires—gods, asuras, and humans alike—O bull among the Bharatas, I wish to understand this truth in its real nature.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa—understood as rightful punishment and the restraining power of law—functions as a universal instrument of welfare: it curbs harmful impulses, protects beings, and stabilizes dharma across all realms (divine, demonic, human, and animal).
In the Shānti Parva’s discourse on rājadharma, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses the teacher-figure (honored as ‘bharatarṣabha’) and asks for a deeper, principled explanation of the claim that the entire moving and unmoving world is founded upon Daṇḍa, especially since all beings are seen to be attached to desire and self-interest.