Shloka 20
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
यदि धर्मका उल्लंघन करनेपर भी लुटेरोंका वध न किया जाय तो उनसे सारी प्रजाको कष्ट पहुँच सकता है। पहले और बहुत पहलेके लोगोंपर शासन करना सुगम था
āsīd ādāna-daṇḍo 'pi vadha-daṇḍo 'dya vartate | vadhena 'pi na śakyante niyantum apare janāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Humatsena: “Noong unang panahon, kahit ang pagkumpiska ng ari-arian ay itinuturing nang sapat na parusa; ngunit ngayon ay umiral na ang parusang kamatayan. Gayunman, may ilang tao na lubhang hindi na matuwid at hindi mapigil sa hanggahan ng asal-moral kahit pa patayin.”
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reflects on the escalation of punishments over time: from milder penalties like confiscation to execution, yet it warns that even the harshest penalty may fail to reform certain deeply unrighteous individuals—highlighting the limits of coercive punishment and the complexity of maintaining dharma in society.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and moral order, Humatsena comments on how rulers have progressively adopted harsher forms of daṇḍa (punishment) as wrongdoing increased, noting that some offenders remain uncontrollable even under the threat or application of death penalty.