Shloka 14
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
न वै राज्यं न राजा55सीन्न च दण्डो न दाण्डिक: । धर्मेणैव प्रजा: सर्वा रक्षन्ति सम परस्परम्,पहले न कोई राज्य था, न राजा, न दण्ड था और न दण्ड देनेवाला, समस्त प्रजा धर्मके द्वारा ही एक-दूसरेकी रक्षा करती थी
na vai rājyaṃ na rājāsīn na ca daṇḍo na dāṇḍikaḥ | dharmeṇaiva prajāḥ sarvā rakṣanti sma parasparam ||
Bhishma dit : Aux tout premiers âges, il n’y avait ni royaume ni roi ; il n’y avait ni châtiment ni exécuteur du châtiment. Tous les hommes, guidés par le seul dharma, se protégeaient les uns les autres dans un respect réciproque et égal.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Social harmony is ideally sustained by dharma—internal moral restraint and mutual responsibility—so that coercive governance (daṇḍa) becomes unnecessary. The verse contrasts self-regulated ethical order with later reliance on kingship and punishment.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and righteousness, Bhīṣma describes an early age or ideal condition where there was no formal state apparatus—no king, no penal power—because people protected each other through dharma alone.