Shloka 14

Devanagari script

दण्डनीति: स्वधर्मेण चातुर्वर्ण्य नियच्छति । प्रयुक्ता स्वामिना सम्यगधर्मेभ्यश्व॒ यच्छति,राजाकी दण्डनीति यदि उसके द्वारा स्वधर्मके अनुसार प्रयुक्त हुई तो वह चारों वर्णोौंको नियन्त्रणमें रखती और अधर्मसे निवृत्त करती है

Transliteration

daṇḍanītiḥ svadharmeṇa cāturvarṇyaṃ niyacchati | prayuktā svāminā samyag adharmebhyaś ca yacchati ||

Translation

Vāyu said: “The policy of punishment and governance (daṇḍanīti), when exercised in accordance with one’s own duty, restrains the four social orders and keeps them under discipline. When rightly applied by the ruler, it also holds people back from unrighteous conduct.”

Word by Word

दण्डनीतिःpolicy of punishment; penal discipline

स्वधर्मेणby/through one’s own duty

चातुर्वर्ण्यम्the fourfold social order (four varṇas)

नियच्छतिrestrains; keeps under control

प्रयुक्ताapplied; employed

स्वामिनाby the master/king

सम्यक्properly; rightly

अधर्मेभ्यःfrom unrighteous acts; from adharma

चand

यच्छतिrestrains; holds back

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

daṇḍanīti (royal punishment/governance)

cāturvarṇya (four varṇas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Daṇḍanīti (the ruler’s disciplinary power) is ethically legitimate only when aligned with svadharma and applied correctly; then it preserves social order and restrains adharma rather than becoming oppression.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is instructing about rājadharma: he explains the function of royal punishment/governance as a stabilizing force that regulates the fourfold social order and prevents people from falling into unrighteous conduct when administered properly.