Shloka 18
राजधर्मः, दण्डनीतिः, कर्तृत्व-विचारः च
Royal Duty, Lawful Discipline, and the Question of Agency
न हि ककश्चित् क्वचिद् राजन् दिष्टं प्रतिनिवर्तते । दण्डशस्त्रकृतं पापं पुरुषे तन्न विद्यते
na hi kaścit kvacid rājan diṣṭaṃ pratinivartate | daṇḍaśastrakṛtaṃ pāpaṃ puruṣe tan na vidyate ||
Vyāsa said: “O King, no one anywhere can turn back what has been ordained by destiny. Therefore, the sin that arises from punishments and weapons is not to be imputed to the individual as though it were solely his own.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Vyāsa emphasizes the overpowering force of diṣṭa (what is ordained) and uses it to qualify personal blame: when violence occurs through the instruments of rule—punishment and weapons—the resulting pāpa is not straightforwardly assigned to an individual as purely personal guilt, since larger forces (including destiny and the demands of governance) are at play.
In Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on dharma after the war, Vyāsa addresses a king and frames a moral argument about action, fate, and culpability—specifically discussing how acts connected with royal punishment and warfare relate to sin and responsibility.