Shloka 24
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दण्ड सर्वत्र व्यापक होनेके कारण भगवान् विष्णु है और नरों (मनुष्यों) का अयन (आश्रय) होनेसे नारायण कहलाता है। वह प्रभावशाली होनेसे प्रभु और सदा महत् रूप धारण करता है, इसलिये महान् पुरुष कहलाता है ।।
daṇḍaḥ sarvatra vyāpakaḥ, tena bhagavān viṣṇuḥ; narāṇām ayanaṃ (āśrayaḥ) iti nārāyaṇaḥ. sa prabhāvavān iti prabhuḥ, sadā mahat-rūpaṃ dhārayatīti mahān puruṣa ucyate. tathoktā brahma-kanyeti lakṣmī-vṛttiḥ sarasvatī; daṇḍa-nītiḥ jagad-dhātrī, daṇḍo hi bahu-vigrahaḥ.
Bhishma menjelaskan: karena asas daṇḍa—kekuatan penertiban dan koreksi dalam pemerintahan—meresapi segala tempat, Sang Bhagavān disebut Viṣṇu. Karena Ia menjadi ayana, yakni tempat berlindung dan beristirahat bagi manusia, Ia disebut Nārāyaṇa. Karena pengaruh-Nya amat besar Ia disebut Prabhu, dan karena senantiasa mengenakan wujud yang luas dan luhur Ia disebut Mahāpuruṣa. Demikian pula, Sarasvatī disebut ‘putri Brahmā’ dalam fungsinya sebagai Lakṣmī—daya kemakmuran dan keberuntungan. Ilmu daṇḍanīti, tata kelola melalui daṇḍa, adalah penopang dunia, sebab daṇḍa tampil dalam banyak rupa.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Order in society is sustained by daṇḍa—disciplined authority applied as corrective justice. Bhīṣma links this political-ethical principle to divine sovereignty: the Lord is ‘Viṣṇu’ as the all-pervading power behind order, and ‘Nārāyaṇa’ as the refuge of people. Daṇḍa is not merely punishment but a multiform instrument of dharma when rightly used.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on rājadharma (the duties of kings). Here he explains the theological and ethical grounding of governance: divine names are interpreted through their functions, and daṇḍanīti is praised as world-sustaining because it preserves stability, protects the weak, and restrains wrongdoing.