Shloka 25
वित्रास्यमाना: सुकृतो न कामादधघ्नन्ति दुष्कृतीन् । सुकृतेनैव राजानो भूयिष्ठं शासते प्रजा:,जब प्रजामें दण्डका भय उत्पन्न किया जाता है, तब वह सत्कर्मपरायण होती है; अतः भय दिखाकर प्रजाको धर्ममें लगाना ही दण्डका उद्देश्य है, किसीका प्राण लेना नहीं। राजालोग अपनी इच्छासे दुष्टोंका वध नहीं करते हैं। श्रेष्ठ नरेश प्रायः सत्कर्मों और सद्व्यवहारों-द्वारा ही दीर्घकालतक प्रजापर शासन करते हैं
vitrāsyamānāḥ sukṛto na kāmād adhaghnanti duṣkṛtīn | sukṛtenaiva rājāno bhūyiṣṭhaṃ śāsate prajāḥ ||
Humatsena said: “When people are made to feel the fear of punishment, they turn toward good conduct; therefore the purpose of punishment is to instill dharma through deterrence, not to take life. Kings do not, out of mere personal desire, kill the wicked. The best rulers, for the most part, govern their subjects for a long time through virtue itself—by good deeds and proper, civilized conduct.”
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa) is primarily a tool of deterrence meant to generate fear that turns people toward righteous conduct; it is not meant for cruelty or killing driven by a ruler’s personal desire. Ideal kings rule mainly through their own virtue and good governance rather than frequent violent penalties.
In the Shanti Parva’s discourse on rājadharma, Humatsena explains the ethical rationale behind royal punishment: fear of penalty reforms behavior, so the king’s aim should be moral order and long-term stability, achieved chiefly through good conduct and just administration rather than arbitrary executions.