Shloka 14
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
न वै राज्यं न राजा55सीन्न च दण्डो न दाण्डिक: । धर्मेणैव प्रजा: सर्वा रक्षन्ति सम परस्परम्
na vai rājyaṃ na rājāsīn na ca daṇḍo na dāṇḍikaḥ | dharmeṇaiva prajāḥ sarvā rakṣanti sma parasparam ||
毗湿摩说道：在最初的时代，既无国度，亦无君王；既无刑罚，亦无施刑之人。众生唯以达摩为导，各自相护，彼此敬重。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Social harmony is ideally sustained by dharma—internal moral restraint and mutual responsibility—so that coercive governance (daṇḍa) becomes unnecessary. The verse contrasts self-regulated ethical order with later reliance on kingship and punishment.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on governance and righteousness, Bhīṣma describes an early age or ideal condition where there was no formal state apparatus—no king, no penal power—because people protected each other through dharma alone.