Shloka 49
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
ईश्वरने यत्नपूर्वक धर्मरक्षाके लिये क्षत्रियके हाथमें उसके समान जातिवाला दण्ड समर्पित किया है; इसलिये दण्ड ही इस सनातन व्यवहारका कारण है ।।
bhīṣma uvāca | īśvareṇa yatnapūrvakaṁ dharmarakṣāyai kṣatriyasya haste tasya samānajātīyo daṇḍaḥ samarpitaḥ; tasmād daṇḍa eva asya sanātanavyavahārasya kāraṇam || rājñāṁ pūjyatamo nānyo yathā dharmaḥ pradarśitaḥ | brahmaṇā lokarakṣārthaṁ svadharmasthāpanāya ca ||
Bhishma said: The Lord, with deliberate care for the protection of dharma, has placed in the Kshatriya’s hand the rod of punishment—daṇḍa—of his own kind and suited to his station. Therefore, it is daṇḍa, the power to restrain and correct, that becomes the very cause of the timeless order of social conduct. For kings there is no duty more worthy of reverence than this: the dharma shown by Brahmā for the safeguarding of the world and for establishing each being in its own proper duty—namely, the righteous exercise of daṇḍa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous punishment (daṇḍa) is a sacred instrument entrusted to rulers to protect dharma and maintain the enduring order of society; for kings, no duty is more venerable than exercising this power justly for the world’s protection and the establishment of svadharma.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on statecraft and ethics, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira that governance requires disciplined enforcement: the divine order authorizes Kṣatriyas to wield daṇḍa so that society’s norms and duties remain stable and protected.