Shanti Parva Adhyaya 15 Shloka 9 - Mahabharata | Hindi | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 9

Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)

Devanagari script

वाचा दण्डो ब्राह्मणानां क्षत्रियाणां भुजार्पणम्‌ | दानदण्डा: स्मृता वैश्या निर्दण्ड: शूद्र उच्चते

Transliteration

vācā daṇḍo brāhmaṇānāṁ kṣatriyāṇāṁ bhujārpaṇam | dāna-daṇḍāḥ smṛtā vaiśyā nirdaṇḍaḥ śūdra ucyate ||

Translation

ब्राह्मणों का दण्ड वाणी है—उपदेश और तिरस्कार। क्षत्रियों का दण्ड भुजबल से सेवा में लगाना है। वैश्यों के लिये दण्ड धनदण्ड—जुर्माना—कहा गया है। शूद्र ‘निर्दण्ड’ कहा गया है; उसके लिये सुधार का उपाय सेवा में लगाना ही है।

Word by Word

वाचाby speech

दण्डःpunishment

ब्राह्मणानाम्of Brahmins

क्षत्रियाणाम्of Kshatriyas

भुजार्पणम्offering of the arm (i.e., bodily service/force)

दानदण्डाःpunishments consisting of fines/forfeiture (lit. 'giving-penalties')

स्मृताःare considered/are remembered (as)

वैश्याःVaishyas

निर्दण्डःwithout punishment

शूद्रःthe Shudra

उच्यतेis said/is called

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Arjuna

Brahmin (Brāhmaṇa)

Kshatriya (Kṣatriya)

Vaishya (Vaiśya)

Shudra (Śūdra)

Daṇḍa (punishment/penalty)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse outlines a graded theory of punishment (daṇḍa) tied to social roles: Brahmins are corrected primarily through verbal censure, Kshatriyas through enforced service/labor, Vaishyas through financial penalties, and Shudras are described as not receiving formal punitive penalties beyond being made to serve—presented as a traditional schema of discipline and social regulation.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s discourse on dharma and governance, Arjuna speaks about how punishment should be applied differently across social classes, summarizing a remembered rule of daṇḍanīti (policy of punishment) as part of a broader ethical discussion.