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 ||
毗湿摩说道：即便檀荼（daṇḍa）是基于信赖与被认可的确信而被察知，它仍应被理解为属于依法裁断之域（vyavahāra）。凡被承认为“依法裁断”者，皆不出吠陀之范围，而以吠陀原则为根基。故而，社会中的惩戒与裁判，即使依凭可信之信念而行，亦仍是达摩之器，而非恣意之暴力。
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.