Shloka 22
यत्राबलो वध्यमानस्त्रातारं नाधिगच्छति । महान् दैवकृतस्तत्र दण्ड: पतति दारुण:,सताया जानेवाला दुर्बल मनुष्य जहाँ अपने लिये कोई रक्षक नहीं पाता है, वहाँ सतानेवाले पापीको दैवकी ओरसे भयंकर दण्ड प्राप्त होता है
yatrābalo vadhyamānas trātāraṁ nādhigacchati | mahān daivakṛtas tatra daṇḍaḥ patati dāruṇaḥ ||
Utathya declares that when a helpless person is being harmed and finds no protector, a great and terrible punishment—ordained by divine law—falls upon the sinful oppressor.
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Oppression of the helpless inevitably invites retribution: if no human protector appears, divine/cosmic justice (daiva) itself imposes a severe punishment on the wrongdoer. The verse reinforces dharma as an inescapable moral order.
In the Śānti Parva’s dharma-instructional setting, the sage Utathya states a principle about punishment and protection: the weak may lack immediate worldly support, but the aggressor does not escape—daṇḍa, backed by daiva, descends upon the perpetrator.