Shloka 38
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
विष्वग्लोप: प्रवर्तेत भिद्येरन् सर्वसेतव: । ममत्वं न प्रजानीयुर्यदि दण्डो न पालयेत्
viśvag-lopaḥ pravarteta bhidyeran sarva-setavaḥ | mamatvaṃ na prajānīyur yadi daṇḍo na pālayet ||
ອາຈຸນາກ່າວວ່າ: «ຖ້າທັນດະ (daṇḍa) ບໍ່ຮັກສາລະບຽບ, ການສູນເສຍຂອງທຳ-ກຳຈະແຜ່ຂະຫຍາຍໄປທົ່ວ; ຂອບເຂດ ແລະຂໍ້ຈຳກັດທັງປວງຈະແຕກພັງ; ແລະຜູ້ຄົນຈະບໍ່ຮູ້ແມ່ນແຕ່ຄວາມໝາຍຂອງ ‘ຂອງຂ້ອຍ’ ແລະ ‘ບໍ່ແມ່ນຂອງຂ້ອຍ’—ວ່າສິ່ງໃດເປັນຂອງໃຜ»។
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
That daṇḍa—legitimate punitive authority and enforcement of norms—is necessary to preserve dharma and social boundaries; without it, moral and legal distinctions collapse, including basic recognition of ownership and restraint.
In the Śānti Parva’s discussion on rājadharma (the duties of kings), Arjuna raises a governance-based argument: if the ruler does not maintain daṇḍa, society falls into disorder, with broken ‘setus’ (limits/constraints) and confusion about rights and property.