राजधर्मानुशासन पर्व — दण्डको यथार्थ स्वरूप

Yudhishthira said O grandfather, you have now finished your discourse upon the duties of kings. From what you have said it appears that punishment occupies a high position and is the master of everything, for everything depends upon punishment.

It seems, O powerful one, that punishment, which is highly powerful and which is present everywhere, is the foremost of all beings among either gods and Rishis and great Pitris and Yakshas and Rakshasa and Pishachas and Sadhyas, or living beings in this world. consisting of beasts and birds.

You have said that the entire universe, mobile and immobile, including gods, Asuras, and men, depends upon punishment.

I now wish, O foremost of Bharata's race, to know truly who punishment is. Of what kind is he? What is his form? What is his nature?

Of what is he made? Whence is his origin? What are his features? What is his splendour? How does he remain awake among living creatures so vigilantly?

Who is he that remains perpetually awake, protecting this universe? Who is he that is known to be the greatest of all things? Who, indeed, is that high person called punishment? What is that upon which Punishment depends? And what is his movement?

Bhishma said Listen, O scion of the Kurus, who is punishment and why is he also called Vyavahara. That upon whom all things depend is called punishment.

Punishment is that by which righteousness is maintained. He is sometimes called Vyavahara. Punishment is called as such so that the righteousness of a king who is wide awake may not suffer extinction.

It is, therefore, that the name Vyavahara is applied to it. In days of yore, Manu, O king, declared first of all this truth, viz.,-He who protects all creatures, the loved and the hated equally, by impartially holding the rod of punishment, is said to be the righteousness incarnate.

These words, that I have said, were, o king, first uttered in days of yore by Manu. They represent the great words of Brahmana.

And because these words were spoken first, therefore, they are known as the first. And since Punishment which stops the misappropriation of other people's wealth, therefore, Punishment has come to be called by the name of Vyavahara.

The aggregate of three objects always depends well-applied Punishment. Punishment is a great god. In form he looks like a burning fire.

His complexion is dark like that of the petals of the blue lotus. He has four teeth, four arms and eight legs and many eyes. His ears are pointed like arrows and his hair stands upright. on

He has matted locks and two tongues. His face has the colour of copper, and he is clad in a lion's skin. That irresistible god assumes such a dreadful form.

Assuming again the form of the sword, the bow, the mace, the dart, the trident, the mallet, the arrow, the thick and short club, the battleaxe, the discus, the noose, the heavy bludgeon, the rapier, the lance, and, in fact, of every sort of weapon that exist on Earth, Punishment moves in the world.

Indeed, Punishment moves on Earth, piercing and cutting and assenting and looping off and dividing and striking and killing and rushing against its victims.

These, O Yudhishthira, are some of the names of Punishment viz., sword, Sabre, Righteousness, Fury, the Irresistible, the father of prosperity, Victory, Punisher, Checker, the Eternal, the Scriptures, Brahmana, Mantra, Avenger, the Foremost of first Legislators, Judge, the Undecaying, god, the individual of irresistible course, the Ever-going, the Firstborn, the individual without love the Soul of Rudra, the eldest Manu, and the great Benefiter.

Punishment is the holy Vishnu. He is the powerful Narayana. And because he always puts on dreadful from, therefore he is called Mahapurusha.

His wife Morality passes by the names of Brahman's daughter, Lakshmi, Vritti, Sarasvati, and Mother of the universe. Punishment has thus many forms.

Blessing and curse, pleasure and pain, righteousness and unrighteousness strength and weakness, fortune and misfortune, merit and demerit, virtue and fault, liking and disliking, season and month, night and day and hour, carefulness and carelessness, joy and anger, peace and self-control, destiny and manliness, salvation and damnation, fear and intrepidity, injury and abstention from injury, penances and sacrifice and rigid abstinence, poison and wholesome food, the beginning, the middle, and the end, the result of all murderous acts, insolence, insanity, arrogance, pride, patience, policy, impolicy, powerlessness and power, respect, disrespect decay and firmness, humility, tharity, fitness of time and unfitness of time, falsehood, wisdom, truth, belief, disbelief, importance, trade, profit, loss, success, defeat, fierceness, mildness, death, acquisition and non-acquisition, agreement, and disagreement, what would be done and what should not be done, strength and weakness, malice and good will, righteousness and unrighteousness, shame and shamelessness, modesty, prosperity, and adversity, energy, acts, learning, eloquence, keenness of understanding,—all these, O Yudhishthira, are forms of Punishment in this world. Therefore, punishment has many forms.

If punishment had not existed, all creatures would have struck one another. Through fear of punishment, O Yudhishthira, living creatures do not kill one another.

O king, always protected by punishment, the subjects, increase the might of their ruler. It is for this that punishment is regarded as the highest refuge of all.

Punishment, o king, quickly sets the world on the path of righteousness. Depend upon truth, righteousness exits in Brahmanas.

Filled with righteousness, leading Brahmanas take to the study of the Vedas. From the Vedas the sacrifices originate. Sacrifices please the gods.

The gods being gratified, commend the dwellers of the Earth to Indra. For benefiting the inhabitants of the Earth, Indra gives them food.

The life of all creatures depends upon food. From food creatures derive their support and growth. Punishment in the shape of king remains wakeful amongst them.

For serving this object, punishment assumes the form of a Kshatriya among men. Protecting men he remains awake, always careful and never decaying.

Punishment has again these other eight names, viz., God, Men, Life, Power, Heart, the Lord of all creatures, the Soul of all things, and the Living creature.

God gave both prosperity and the rod of punishment to the king who is possessed of strength and who is a combination of five expedients.

Nobility of blood, rich ministers, knowledge, the various kinds of forces with the eight objects mentioned below, and the other forces, should be sought for by the king, o Yudhishthira.

a Those eight objects are elephants, horses, cars, infantry, boats, impressed labourers, increase of population, and cattle such as sheep, etc.

Well-armed soldiers car-warriors, elephantwarriors, cavalry, infantry officers and surgeons form the limbs.

Beggars, principal judges, judges, astrologers, performers of propitiatory and Atharvan rites, treasury, allies, grain, and all other requisites, form the body, composed of seven attributes and eight limbs, of a kingdom. Punishment is another powerful limb of kingdom. Punishment is the creator of a kingdom.

God himself has, with great care, sent Punishment for the use of the Kshatriya. This eternal universe is impartial Punishment's self.

There is nothing which deserves greater respect from kings than Punishment by which the ways of Righteousness are marked out. Brahman himself, for the protection of the world and for establishing the duties of different orders, sent down Punishment.

There is another kind of Vyavahara (Law) originating from the disputes of litigants which also has sprung from Brahman. Principally marked by a belief in either of the two parties, that Vyavahara, (Law) yields great good.

There is another kind of Vyavahara which has the Veda for its soul. It also originates from the Veda. There is, O foremost of kings, a third kind of Vyavahara (Law) which is connected with family customs but which is quite of a piece with the scriptures.

That Vyavahara (Law) which has, as above, been said to be marked by a belief in either of two litigant parties, should be known by us as being inherent in the king. It should be also known by the name of Punishment, as also by the name of Evidence.

Although Punishment is regulated by Evidence, yet it depends upon Law. Vyavahara (law) is really based upon Vedic precepts.

That Vyavahara (Law), which originates from the Vedas, is Morality or duty. It yields good to persons believing in duty and morality; men of purified souls have spoken of that Vyavahara (Law) as they have done of ordinary law.

The third kind of Vyavahara is also a protector of men, and it also originates from the Veda, O Yudhishthira! It keeps up the three worlds. It has Truth for its soul and yields prosperity.

That which is punishment is eternal Vyavahara. That which has been said to be Vyavahara is really the Veda.

That which is the Veda is morality and duty. What is morality and duty is the path of Righteousness. This last in the beginning had been the Grandfather Brahman, that Lord of all creatures.

Brahman is the Creator of the entire universe with the gods and Asuras and Rakshasas and human beings and snakes, and of every other things.

Hence that law which is characterised by a belief in either of two litigant parties has also originated from him. Therefore, he has laid down the following regarding Vyavahara.

Neither mother, nor father, nor brother, nor wife, nor priest, is unpunishable with that king who governs agreeable to his duty.'