Shloka 13
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
उद्वेजनेन बन्धेन विरूपकरणेन च । वधदण्डेन ते क्लिश्या न पुरोहितसंसदि
udvejanena bandhena virūpakaraṇena ca | vadhadaṇḍena te kliśyā na purohitasaṃsadi ||
Dyumatsena berkata: “Biarlah para pelanggar ditundukkan dengan ancaman, dengan pemenjaraan, atau dengan cacat tubuh yang menjadikan mereka bertanda nyata; namun jangan menyiksa mereka dengan hukuman mati, sebab itu hanya menimpakan duka kepada keluarga mereka. Demikian pula, sekalipun mereka telah mencari perlindungan dalam majelis atau naungan seorang Brāhmaṇa pendeta, raja tidak patut menjatuhkan hukuman mati atas mereka.”
इुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse advises proportional punishment: use deterrence, confinement, or other non-lethal penalties, but avoid the death penalty because it causes broader, unjust suffering—especially to the offender’s family—and should not be applied even when the offender has sought priestly refuge.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Dyumatsena instructs on how a king should punish wrongdoing, emphasizing restraint and rejecting capital punishment in this context, including cases involving sanctuary with a Brāhmaṇa priest or in a priestly assembly.