Shloka 36
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
विधाताने दण्डका विधान इस उद्देश्यसे किया है कि चारों वर्णोके लोग आनन्दसे रहें, सबमें अच्छी नीतिका बर्ताव हो तथा पृथ्वीपर धर्म और अर्थकी रक्षा रहे ।।
daṇḍakāḥ vidhātānena etad-uddeśena kṛtāḥ yat caturṇāṁ varṇānāṁ lokā ānandena tiṣṭheyuḥ, sarveṣu sad-nīti-vyavahāraḥ syāt, tathā pṛthivyāṁ dharmārthayoḥ rakṣā bhavet. yadi daṇḍān na bibhyeyur vayāṁsi śvāpādāni ca, adyuḥ paśūn manuṣyāṁś ca yajñārthāni havīṁṣi ca.
L’Ordonnateur institua le châtiment—daṇḍa—dans ce dessein : que les hommes des quatre ordres sociaux vivent dans la quiétude, que la bonne conduite et la saine politique prévalent parmi tous, et que sur la terre soient protégés à la fois le dharma et la prospérité matérielle (artha). Car si les oiseaux et les bêtes prédatrices ne craignaient pas le châtiment, ils dévoreraient le bétail et même les hommes, et ils consumeraient aussi les oblations (havis) gardées pour le sacrifice (yajña).
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa), as a principle of governance, is justified as a protective force: it sustains social peace, enables ethical conduct (nīti), and safeguards both dharma (moral order) and artha (public welfare). Without deterrence, the strong would prey upon the weak and even sacred institutions like sacrifice would be endangered.
In the Shanti Parva’s discourse on kingship and order, the speaker explains why the institution of punishment was established. A concrete example is given: if animals and birds did not fear chastisement, they would freely ravage herds, harm people, and consume sacrificial offerings—showing how daṇḍa functions as a necessary restraint in society.