Shloka 13
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
उद्वेजनेन बन्धेन विरूपकरणेन च । वधदण्डेन ते क्लिश्या न पुरोहितसंसदि
udvejanena bandhena virūpakaraṇena ca | vadhadaṇḍena te kliśyā na purohitasaṃsadi ||
Dyumatsena dijo: «Que tales culpables sean contenidos mediante la intimidación, el encierro o una desfiguración corporal que los deje visiblemente marcados; pero no deben ser atormentados con la pena de muerte, que sólo trae angustia a sus familias. Asimismo, aun si han buscado refugio en la asamblea o bajo la protección de un sacerdote brāhmaṇa, el rey no debe infligirles el castigo capital».
इुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse advises proportional punishment: use deterrence, confinement, or other non-lethal penalties, but avoid the death penalty because it causes broader, unjust suffering—especially to the offender’s family—and should not be applied even when the offender has sought priestly refuge.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Dyumatsena instructs on how a king should punish wrongdoing, emphasizing restraint and rejecting capital punishment in this context, including cases involving sanctuary with a Brāhmaṇa priest or in a priestly assembly.