Shloka 47
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
सप्तप्रकृति चाष्टाड़ं शरीरमिह यद् विदु: । राज्यस्य दण्डमेवाडुं दण्ड: प्रभव एव च
saptaprakṛti cāṣṭāṅgaṁ śarīram iha yad viduḥ | rājyasya daṇḍam evāṅgaṁ daṇḍaḥ prabhava eva ca ||
Wika ni Bhishma: “Dito, ang kinikilala ng marurunong bilang ‘katawan’ ng kaharian ay binubuo ng pitong saligang sangkap at ng walong-bahaging kasangkapan. Ngunit sa lahat ng ito, ang daṇḍa—ang makatarungang kapangyarihang pumigil at magparusa—ang tanging pangunahing sangkap ng paghahari, sapagkat ang daṇḍa mismo ang pinagmumulan na nagpapangyari sa buong kaayusan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that although the kingdom is conceived as an organic body made of multiple constituents (seven prakṛtis and an eightfold apparatus), the decisive principle is daṇḍa—lawful coercive power—because it enables the functioning, protection, and stability of all other elements.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma is advising Yudhiṣṭhira on the structure of the state and the necessity of enforcement. He frames the polity as a body with many limbs, then emphasizes daṇḍa as the chief instrument by which a king maintains order and makes governance effective.