Shloka 25
Draupadī’s Exhortation on Rājadharma and Daṇḍa (द्रौपद्याः राजधर्मोपदेशः)
पुरुषसिंह! महामेरुसे उत्तर शाकद्वीपके बराबर ही जो भद्राश्व वर्ष है, उसे भी आपके दण्डसे दबना पड़ा है ।।
puruṣasiṃha! mahāmerose uttara-śākadvīpake samāna eva yo bhadrāśva-varṣaḥ, so 'pi tava daṇḍena mṛditaḥ. dvīpāś ca antaradvīpāś ca nānājanapadāśrayāḥ; vigāhya sāgaraṃ vīra, daṇḍena mṛditās tvayā.
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô lion parmi les hommes ! Même Bhadrāśva-varṣa—située dans le Śākadvīpa du Nord, au-delà du grand Meru—fut contrainte de ployer sous ton bâton d’autorité. Et, de plus, les nombreuses îles et îles intérieures, demeures de peuples et de contrées diverses—traversant l’océan, ô héros—tu les as aussi soumises par la force de ton pouvoir de châtiment et les as placées sous ta domination.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds daṇḍa as an instrument of kingship: political order is maintained by the ruler’s capacity to discipline and restrain. In the ethical frame of Śānti Parva, such power is ideally subordinated to dharma—used to protect subjects and stabilize society rather than for mere domination.
Vaiśampāyana praises a heroic ruler’s expansive campaign: even distant cosmographic regions like Bhadrāśva-varṣa in Śākadvīpa, along with numerous islands and inner islands inhabited by many peoples, are said to have been subdued after the hero crossed the ocean and imposed his authority.