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 ||
दण्डे त्रिवर्गः सततं सुप्रणीते प्रवर्तते; दैवं हि परमो दण्डो रूपतोऽग्निरिवोत्थितः॥
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.