Shloka 103
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
अतः विज्ञ क्षत्रियनरेशको चाहिये कि वह सदा दण्डनीतिको सामने रखकर उसके द्वारा अप्राप्त वस्तुको पानेकी इच्छा करे और प्राप्त हुई वस्तुकी रक्षा करे। इसके द्वारा प्रजाके योगक्षेम सिद्ध होते हैं, इसमें संशय नहीं है ।।
ataḥ vijña kṣatriya-nareśena sadā daṇḍanītiṃ puraskṛtya tayā aprāpta-vastu-prāptim icchet, prāptaṃ ca vastu rakṣet. tayā prajānāṃ yoga-kṣemāḥ pravartante, nātra saṃśayaḥ. lokasya sīmanta-karī maryādā loka-bhāvinī; samyaṅ-nītā daṇḍanītir yathā mātā yathā pitā.
Bhishma said: Therefore, an intelligent kshatriya king should always keep the science of punishment and governance in the forefront—seeking through it what has not yet been obtained and protecting what has been obtained. By this, the people’s welfare and security (their ‘yoga and kṣema’) are set in motion; of this there is no doubt. Properly administered, daṇḍanīti establishes the boundaries of social order, upholds rightful limits, and nurtures the world; it becomes for the people like a mother and a father—protective, ordering, and sustaining.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s primary ethical duty is to govern through properly administered daṇḍanīti—using lawful discipline to secure what is needed for the realm and to protect what has been gained—so that the people’s welfare and security (yoga-kṣema) are reliably maintained.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma continues advising the ruler: effective, restrained punishment and governance create social boundaries, uphold moral-legal limits (maryādā), and function like parental protection for the populace.