Shloka 10
अक्षद्यूतप्रवेशः — Kali’s Entry and the Initiation of the Dice-Contest
यस्य दण्डभयात् सर्वे भूतग्रामा: समागता: । धर्ममेवानुरुध्यन्ति का त॑ं न वरयेत् पतिम्,“जिनके दण्डके भयसे संसारमें आये हुए समस्त प्राणिसमुदाय धर्मका ही पालन करते हैं, उन यमराजको कौन अपना पति नहीं वरेगी?
yasya daṇḍabhayāt sarve bhūtagrāmāḥ samāgatāḥ | dharmam evānurudhyanti kā taṃ na varayet patim ||
Out of fear of his punitive rod, all hosts of living beings that have come into the world keep to dharma alone. Who, then, would not choose Yama as her husband?
बृहदश्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents daṇḍa (punitive authority) as a force that sustains dharma in society: fear of just punishment restrains beings and aligns conduct with moral order. It implies that a ruler/judge like Yama embodies dharma through enforcement, making him worthy of acceptance and honor.
Bṛhadaśva, while narrating, praises the authority of Yama: because all beings adhere to dharma out of fear of his punishment, the speaker rhetorically asks who would refuse to choose such a figure as husband—framing Yama’s moral-juridical power as a mark of supreme worthiness.