Shloka 40

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

प्रकाशश्चाप्रकाशश्न दण्डो5थ परिशब्दित: । प्रकाशो5ष्टविधस्तत्र गुहाश्न बहुविस्तर:,प्रकट और गुप्त दो प्रकारकी सेनाओंका भी वर्णन किया गया है। उनमें प्रकट सेना आठ प्रकारकी बतायी गयी है और गुप्त सेनाका विस्तार बहुत अधिक कहा गया है

Transliteration

prakāśaś cāprakāśaś ca daṇḍo 'tha pariśabditaḥ | prakāśo 'ṣṭavidhās tatra guhyaś ca bahuvistaraḥ ||

Translation

بھیشم نے کہا—دَण्ड (تعزیری و ضبط کی پالیسی) دو طرح کا بتایا گیا ہے: ظاہر (کھلا) اور پوشیدہ (خفیہ)۔ ان میں ظاہر دَण्ड آٹھ قسم کا ہے، اور پوشیدہ دَण्ड کی وسعت بہت زیادہ بیان کی گئی ہے۔

Word by Word

प्रकाशःthe manifest (force/army)

चand

अप्रकाशःthe unmanifest/secret (force/army)

चand

दण्डःpunishment/rod; coercive power

अथthen/also

परिशब्दितःis designated/termed

प्रकाशःthe manifest (force/army)

अष्टविधःeightfold

तत्रthere/in that context

गुह्यःsecret/hidden

चand

बहुविस्तरःof great extent/very expansive

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Daṇḍa (punitive authority)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Daṇḍa (the ruler’s coercive authority) operates in two modes—open and concealed. Ethical governance requires recognizing both: visible enforcement has defined forms, while hidden measures are broader and therefore demand greater restraint and discernment to remain aligned with dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s instruction on rajadharma in the Shanti Parva, he classifies the instruments of punishment/force. He states that daṇḍa is of two kinds (open and secret), notes that the open kind is eightfold, and indicates that the secret kind has extensive scope.