Shloka 14
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दण्डे त्रिवर्ग: सततं सुप्रणीते प्रवर्तते दैवं हि परमो दण्डो रूपतो5ग्निरिवोत्थित:
daṇḍe trivargaḥ satataṃ supraṇīte pravartate | daivaṃ hi paramo daṇḍo rūpato 'gnir ivotthitaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「ダṇḍa（ダンダ、刑罰と統治の権威）が絶えず正しく執行されるとき、人生の三目的—ダルマ（dharma）、アルタ（artha）、カーマ（kāma）—は然るべき順序に従って進み、確かに成就する。ゆえにダṇḍaは、神意により認められた至高の力と説かれ、火のごとく燃え立つ姿で顕れ—秩序を守る者を護り、邪を焼き尽くすのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Properly administered daṇḍa (punitive and regulatory authority) is essential for sustaining the trivarga—dharma, artha, and kāma. Bhīṣma frames just punishment as a divinely grounded force that maintains moral and social order, likened to fire for its power to protect and to destroy wrongdoing.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on statecraft and ethics, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira about the necessity of disciplined governance. Here he emphasizes that when royal authority is exercised correctly and consistently, society’s moral, economic, and personal aims can flourish; hence daṇḍa is praised as supreme and fiery in potency.