Shloka 6
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
जागर्ति च कथं दण्ड: प्रजास्ववहितात्मक: । कश्न पूर्वापरमिदं जागर्ति प्रतिपालयन्,वह किस प्रकार सावधान रहकर सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंपर शासन करनेके लिये जागता रहता है? कौन इस पूर्वापर जगतका प्रतिपालन करता हुआ जागता है?
jāgarti ca kathaṃ daṇḍaḥ prajāsva-vahita-ātmakaḥ | kaś ca pūrvāparam idaṃ jāgarti pratipālayan ||
Yudhiṣṭhira bertanya: “Bagaimanakah Daṇḍa, yang sentiasa waspada demi kebajikan rakyat, tetap berjaga? Dan siapakah yang berjaga sambil memelihara seluruh dunia ini—tertib yang dahulu dan yang kemudian—agar ia terpelihara?”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames governance (daṇḍa) as vigilant, welfare-oriented discipline, and raises the deeper question of what ultimate principle sustains moral and temporal order—implying that just rule mirrors a higher, watchful order that preserves the world.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on rājadharma, Yudhiṣṭhira questions how the ruler’s coercive authority can remain constantly alert for the people’s good, and he asks who (or what) continually safeguards the world’s ordered continuity.