Shloka 28
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
अन्तश्नादिश्व मध्यं च कृत्यानां च प्रपठडचनम् | मद: प्रमादो दर्पश्ष दम्भो धैर्य नयानयौ
bhīṣma uvāca | antaḥśnādiś ca madhyaṃ ca kṛtyānāṃ ca prapaṭhaḍacanam | madaḥ pramādo darpaś ca dambho dhairyaṃ nayānayau |
भीष्म म्हणाले—अंतः, आदि आणि मध्य; तसेच कृत्यांचा विस्तार; मद, प्रमाद, दर्प, दंभ, धैर्य—आणि नीति व अनीती—हे सर्व, आणि यांसारखे असंख्य विरोधी युग्म, दंडाचेच अनेक नामरूप म्हणून सांगितले आहेत. कुरुश्रेष्ठा! अशा रीतीने या जगात दंड अनेक प्रकारांनी प्रकट होतो.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Daṇḍa (restraint/punitive authority) is not a single act but a broad governing principle that manifests through many conditions and opposites—virtue and vice, prudence and folly, strength and weakness—shaping social order and personal conduct.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rāja-dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining that the ruler’s instrument of order (daṇḍa) has many forms and is reflected in diverse human qualities and outcomes.