Shloka 8

Daṇḍotpatti-kathana (Origin and Function of Daṇḍa) — वसुहोम–मान्धातृ संवाद

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच शृणु कौरव्य यो दण्डो व्यवहारो यथा च स: । यस्मिन्‌ हि सर्वमायत्तं स दण्ड इह केवल:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: śṛṇu kauravya yo daṇḍo vyavahāro yathā ca saḥ | yasmin hi sarvam āyattaṃ sa daṇḍa iha kevalaḥ ||

Translation

毗湿摩说道：“听着，俱卢的后裔。我将为你阐明‘檀陀’究竟为何物，以及它为何又被称作‘毗耶婆诃罗’（vyavahāra：事务之整饬、法度之程序、与治政之实务）。因为在此世间，一切皆所依凭者——唯此一物在这里被称为檀陀，是支撑社会秩序的唯一维系之力。”

Word by Word

• {'śṛṇu': 'listen

• hear (imperative)', 'kauravya': 'O descendant of Kuru

• address to Yudhiṣṭhira', 'daṇḍaḥ': 'the rod

• royal authority that enforces law and order', 'vyavahāraḥ': 'worldly dealings

• practical governance', 'yathā': 'as

• in what manner', 'saḥ': 'that

• he/it', 'yasmin': 'in which

• upon which', 'hi': 'indeed

• for', 'sarvam': 'everything', 'āyattam': 'dependent

• subject to', 'iha': 'here

• in this world', 'kevalaḥ': 'alone

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhishma
• Kauravya (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• Daṇḍa
• Vyavahāra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma teaches that daṇḍa—coercive authority expressed as punishment and enforcement—is the indispensable foundation of orderly life; it is also closely tied to vyavahāra, the practical and legal administration through which justice is carried out.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on kingship and peace, Bhishma addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and begins explaining the nature of daṇḍa and how it functions as vyavahāra—i.e., the king’s system of governance and adjudication on which society depends.