Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 56
Dharmopadeśa-Śānti: Rules of Impurity, Expiations, and Ancestor Rites
तान्धर्मविन्घकर्तॄंश्च राजा दण्डेन पीडयेत् । न चैतान्पीडयेद्राजा कथंचित्काममोहितः ॥ ५६ ॥
tāndharmavinghakartṝṃśca rājā daṇḍena pīḍayet | na caitānpīḍayedrājā kathaṃcitkāmamohitaḥ || 56 ||
ധർമ്മത്തിന് തടസ്സം സൃഷ്ടിക്കുന്നവരെ രാജാവ് ദണ്ഡത്തോടെ ശിക്ഷിക്കണം; എന്നാൽ വ്യക്തിഗത കാമമോഹത്തിൽ പെട്ട് രാജാവ് അവരെ ഒരുവിധത്തിലും ശിക്ഷിക്കരുത്।
Narada
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: vira
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It frames punishment (daṇḍa) as a sacred instrument for protecting Dharma, insisting that the ruler’s inner purity—freedom from kāma-driven bias—is essential for justice to remain righteous rather than oppressive.
By warning against kāma-moha (delusion by desire), it supports a core Bhakti discipline: self-mastery and purity of intention. Governance aligned with Dharma becomes an offering of duty rather than an act of ego or craving.
It chiefly reflects Dharmaśāstra-style applied ethics (not a technical Vedanga lesson): the operational rule that daṇḍa must be administered impartially, free from personal desire—an essential principle for lawful conduct and social order.