Shloka 13

मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः

Determination of the Means to Liberation

Devanagari script

उद्वेजनेन बन्धेन विरूपकरणेन च । वधदण्डेन ते क्लिश्या न पुरोहितसंसदि

Transliteration

udvejanena bandhena virūpakaraṇena ca | vadhadaṇḍena te kliśyā na purohitasaṃsadi ||

Translation

丢摩蹉那说道：“此等罪人，当以威慑约束之，以囚禁拘押之，或以使其形体留有显著缺损之记号而惩之；然不可用死刑折磨他们，因为那只会把痛苦倾覆于其家族。又即便他们已在婆罗门祭司的会座中求庇，或受其护佑，君王亦不当对他们施以极刑。”

Word by Word

• उद्वेजनेन: by intimidation/terrorizing
• उद्वेजनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उद्वेजन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• बन्धेन: by imprisonment/bondage
• बन्धेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विरूपकरणेन: by disfigurement/making ugly
• विरूपकरणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विरूपकरण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• वधदण्डेन: by the punishment of execution/death-penalty
• वधदण्डेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वधदण्ड
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• ते: you (pl.)
• ते: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Accusative, Plural

• क्लिश्याः: you should afflict/torment
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्लिश्
• Form: Present, Imperative (Vidhi-lin/Loṭ), 2nd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• पुरोहितसंसदि: in the assembly/court of the royal priest
• पुरोहितसंसदि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरोहितसंसद्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

इुमत्सेन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dyumatsena
• king (rājā)
• purohita (royal priest/Brāhmaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse advises proportional punishment: use deterrence, confinement, or other non-lethal penalties, but avoid the death penalty because it causes broader, unjust suffering—especially to the offender’s family—and should not be applied even when the offender has sought priestly refuge.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on governance and dharma, Dyumatsena instructs on how a king should punish wrongdoing, emphasizing restraint and rejecting capital punishment in this context, including cases involving sanctuary with a Brāhmaṇa priest or in a priestly assembly.