Shloka 20
Sandhi–Vigraha in Āpada: The Mouse and the Cat (सन्धिविग्रहापदि—मूषकमार्जारसंवादः)
शिष्ट्यर्थ विहितो दण्डो न वृद्धयर्थ विनिश्चय: । ये च शिष्टान् प्रबाधन्ते दण्डस्तेषां वध: स्मृत:
śiṣṭyartha vihito daṇḍo na vṛddhyartha viniścayaḥ | ye ca śiṣṭān prabādhante daṇḍas teṣāṁ vadhaḥ smṛtaḥ ||
Punishment is ordained to uphold the order of the righteous and well-conducted, not as a device for increasing one’s wealth. And those who harass and oppress the virtuous—death itself is remembered as the fitting punishment for them.
कायव्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa (punitive authority) is justified only as a dharmic instrument to protect social-moral order and the virtuous; it must not be used for the ruler’s profit. Severe punishment, even execution, is sanctioned for those who violently oppress the righteous.
In the Shānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, the speaker states a governing principle: punishment exists to safeguard śiṣṭa conduct and restrain wrongdoers, not to enrich the authority; those who persecute the virtuous are deemed deserving of the ultimate penalty.