Shloka 53
Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद
दण्ड: प्रत्ययदृष्टोडपि व्यवहारात्मक: स्मृत: । व्यवहार: स्मृतो यश्चव॒ स वेदविषयात्मक:
daṇḍaḥ pratyayadṛṣṭo 'pi vyavahārātmakaḥ smṛtaḥ | vyavahāraḥ smṛto yaś ca sa vedaviṣayātmakaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhishma: Kahit ang daṇḍa (kaparusahan) ay makita batay sa tiwala at sa paniniwalang tinanggap, dapat pa ring maunawaang kabilang ito sa saklaw ng vyavahāra—ang makatarungang pamamaraan. At ang anumang kinikilalang vyavahāra ay hindi hiwalay sa saklaw ng Veda; nakaugat ito sa mga simulain ng Veda. Kaya ang pagpapatupad at paghatol sa lipunan, kahit umaasa sa kapani-paniwalang paniniwala, ay nananatiling kasangkapan ng dharma at hindi puwersang walang batayan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Punishment (daṇḍa) and judicial practice (vyavahāra), even when based on credible trust or accepted conviction, are not arbitrary; they are to be treated as dharmic instruments rooted in Vedic authority and meant to uphold order and justice.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma explains to the inquirer that the king’s punitive power and the mechanisms of adjudication belong to the recognized sphere of lawful conduct, and that this sphere is continuous with Vedic norms rather than separate from them.