Shloka 14
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
वसुहरोम उवाच शृणु राजन् यथा दण्ड: सम्भूतो लोकसंग्रह: । प्रजाविनयरक्षार्थ धर्मस्थात्मा सनातन:
Vasuharoma uvāca: śṛṇu rājan yathā daṇḍaḥ sambhūto lokasaṅgrahaḥ | prajāvinayarakṣārthaṃ dharmasthātmā sanātanaḥ ||
वसुहरोम उवाच—शृणु राजन् यथा दण्डः सम्भूतो लोकसंग्रहः। प्रजाविनयरक्षार्थं धर्मस्थात्मा सनातनः॥
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
That daṇḍa—rightly grounded in dharma—is an eternal instrument for protecting and disciplining the people, and for maintaining social cohesion (lokasaṅgraha).
Vasuharoma addresses the king and begins an explanation of how daṇḍa (punitive/governing authority) originated and why it functions as the sustaining principle of order in the world.