Shloka 31
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
सत्यं चेदं ब्रह्मणा पूर्वमुक्तं दण्ड: प्रजा रक्षति साधु नीत: । पश्याग्नयश्ष प्रतिशाम्य भीता: संतर्जिता दण्डभयाज्ज्वलन्ति
arjuna uvāca | satyaṁ cedaṁ brahmaṇā pūrvam uktaṁ daṇḍaḥ prajā rakṣati sādhu nītaḥ | paśyāgnayaś ca pratiśāmyamānā bhītāḥ santarjitā daṇḍa-bhayāj jvalanti ||
Arjuna dijo: «Esto es en verdad cierto, como Brahmā lo declaró hace mucho: el castigo—cuando se aplica rectamente—protege al pueblo. Ved cómo los fuegos, cuando empiezan a apagarse, se asustan al ser avivados y amonestados; por temor a la vara vuelven a arder con fuerza.»
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Properly administered daṇḍa (punishment/discipline) is not mere cruelty but a protective instrument of dharma: it restrains wrongdoing and thereby safeguards the community.
Arjuna supports the doctrine of governance by citing Brahmā’s earlier statement and illustrates it with a vivid simile: like a fading fire that flares up when stirred and threatened, people (or social order) respond to the presence of enforceable punishment.