Shloka 54
Adhyāya 287 — Janaka’s Inquiry on Śreyas, Abhayadāna, and Asaṅga
Non-attachment
दण्डो यत्राविनीतेषु सत्कारश्न कृतात्मसु । चरेत् तत्र वसेच्चैव पुण्यशीलेषु साधुषु
daṇḍo yatrāvinīteṣu satkāraś ca kṛtātmasu | caret tatra vasec caiva puṇyaśīleṣu sādhuṣu ||
Là où les indisciplinés sont contenus par un châtiment juste et où les maîtres d’eux-mêmes sont honorés comme il convient, qu’on y circule et qu’on y demeure, au milieu des vertueux et des gens de bien.
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Seek residence and association in a society that enforces discipline on the unruly (daṇḍa) and honors the self-controlled (satkāra). Such an environment sustains dharma by correcting wrongdoing and encouraging virtue.
Nārada is giving counsel in the Śānti Parva’s ethical-discourse setting, advising what kind of community one should choose: a place governed by just restraint and respectful recognition of the virtuous.