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 ||
Humatsena nói: “Thuở xưa, ngay cả việc tịch thu tài sản cũng đã được xem là hình phạt đủ rồi; nhưng ngày nay án xử tử đã được dùng đến. Thế mà vẫn có những kẻ ngoan cố đến mức không thể bị kiềm giữ trong khuôn phép đạo lý, dù có giết đi nữa.”
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.