Chapter 27 - Duty of a king in regard to Danda i.e. penal power

Duty of a king in regard to Danda i.e. penal power. 

Shri Narayan Muni said:- 

Rising above anger and greed, a king should be equal to a friend, a foe and even to his own son when doling out punishments as per the tenets of Dharmashastras. 1. 

When there are mutually contradictory inferences from the Smritis to decide a matter, the principle of justice should be accorded importance. It is also a matter of fact that the Dharmashastra is superior to the Arthashastrawhen it comes to delivering justice. 2. 

I shall explain to you why there are contradictions in the tenets of the smritis even though their author is the same person. 3. 

The sages created the Smritis as per the wish of Lord Hari, taking into consideration the fact that there are individuals of different natures, such as Sattvik (Rajasic and Tamasic). It is for the good of the three types of people that they created different Smritis. 4. 

From among those Smriti tenets, the appropriate tenets should be applied to the people as per their respective natures. However, the rule of dharma is the strongest among them all. 5. 

Therefore a king, along with his counsellors, should award punishments to offenders after weighing the matter in light of the furtherance of dharma. 6. 

Danda or (penal power) is the manifestation of Rudra, and when employed wrongly,; works to the destruction of the king himself. 7. 

If on the other hand, it (Danda) is properly employed as per the tenets of dharma, it undoubtedly expands the kingdom of a righteous king and destroys his enemies. 8. 

If a king does not employ Danda (penal power), the people would Actas they like and that would further result in the destruction of dharma. 9. 

Lord Shankara created the Danda when supplicated by Brahma and other Gods to avoid mixing of Varnas ( castes). 10.

Danda is indeed a manifestation of Rudra. It is the Lord of the world and it has held all creatures within their respective limits. 11. 

It was worshiped by Lord Brahma and other Gods first, then by Ksupa, Manu and others, the sons of Lord Brahma and then by Indra and others. 12. 

Thereafter, it was worshiped by all the Dikpalas (guardians of the quarters) who stay within the limits ordained by him. Finally, it came to earth where it is worshiped by all the kings. 13. 

Shabda-Darshan of Dand-Murti emerged through Shankar. It is dark like the petals of a blue lotus, it has four jaws and four arms and eight legs and numerous eyes; its ears are cone- shaped and hairs are erect. 14. 

It has locks of matted hair, two tongues and a copper coloured face and its skin is like that of a lion. Danda which has this form is ever venerable because it controls everything. 15. 

It supervises the actions of all. It moves about everywhere in the world, armed with weapons like swords and many others. 16. 

Afraid of the Danda are the Gods, the demons, the humans, the serpents and even the Prajapatis. They all stay happy by remaining within their limits. 17. 

If there was no Danda (penal power), then people would harass one another. Thus, it is certain that because of the fear of Danda, people do not kill each other. 18.

Protected by Danda, the people make their own prosperity. Therefore, the king also should venerate Danda for protecting dharma. 19. 

A king should follow the path of the righteous kings of the past and employ Danda (the divinely vested penal power in him) as they used it and not as per his own likes and dislikes. 20. 

Danda was created for educating (the people) and not for killing them. This is very certain. Hence, a king should educate his subjects and make them follow the path of goodness. 21. 

A righteous king should not award death penalty to Brahmins, to the devotees of Vishnu and the other deities, to the unprotected and to the ascetics even if they deserve it. 22. 

In case they are found guilty of a great offence like disloyalty to the king, they should be branded and expelled from the country. 23. 

A religious king should not kill a Brahmin or a teacher on a battlefield even when he is overcome by on the fury to assassinate them. He should rather take him as a prisoner and put him in jail. 24. 

Even in a war, a king should not kill anyone whose death brings discredit to him (for instance: a child, a woman or an old man). A king should never fight with anyone who is not his equal or is a very lowly person. 25. 

Infamous killing for the king. 

A king should not kill any of the following mentioned on the battlefield. These are - the exhausted, those overcome with fear, children, old people, the sick, the crying, those who are unwilling to fight, the helpless, the lowly, beggars, those ready to surrender, the eunuchs, the unarmed, those fighting in cooperation with others, a spectator, a mad one, panegyrists, couriers, one whose hair is dishevelled, one whose garment (dhoti) has become loose, one who is simply sitting because he has no charioteer, one without a horse, one with folded hands, one who has climbed a tree, one who has no armour or one who is drinking water or eating food. A king should never kill another king. He should not kill a horse, an ox, an elephant or a charioteer. 26 - 29. 

The Brahmins are not punishable by a king, and if he does so, his power i.e. ksatra merges into power of Brahmin, as fire vanishes into water. 30. 

Nobody should beat one’s parents, preceptors, ascetics and a female of any species. Whatsoever the case may be, they should never be killed. 31. 

A Vedic scholar and a student who resorts to robbery because he has no means of livelihood should be supported by the king. The same rule is applicable to women, paupers and holy men. 32. 

If even after getting a means of livelihood they do not desist from bad acts, they should be expelled from the country along with their relatives. 33. 

A king should never kill an emissary who conveys the message of an enemy. Such an emissary usually has the following seven merits. He is well-born, has a high moral character, is a skilful orator, is alert and sweet- tongued, speaks as his king directs him to and has a good memory. By killing him, a king will go to hell forfeiting dharma (religious merit). 34 - 35. 

A king who takes away the means of livelihood of Gods (temples), Brahmins, holy men, the afflicted and the less-supported goes to the hell of Kumbhipaka along with his ministers. 36. 

A king who forcibly takes away means of livelihood of a Brahmin, given either by him or others, is reborn for sixty thousand years as a worm in the excreta. 37. 

A king should always show compassion for those people who are poor, weak and support the less supported. Hence, he should never harass them. 38. 

The eye of the weak is supposed to be like a poisonous fire. There is no doubt that it burns the entire clan of the king who harasses them. 39. 

Nothing that is burnt by the weak-eyed ever grows again. This superhuman agency itself destroys the king. 40. 

(The counsellors of the King in a kingdom) where a weak one is being persecuted and does not have anyone to protect him will meet with complete doom. 41. 

A person who uses his strength to harass a weak person shall have his family destroyed by that very injustice. 42. 

Wiping the tears of the poor, the old and the helpless, feeding and protecting them are said to be duties of the King. 43. 

A king should never relinquish dharma out of carnal desire, greed, fear or hatred. It is by the virtue of dharma that all (great) kings attained heavenly abodes. 44. 

O Brahmin!, It is because great kings like Yudhisthira who did not relinquish their dharma that their reputation is still spread far and wide in this world. 45. 

Thus ends the twenty seventh chapter entitled, ‘narration of norms of punishments in state craft,’ in the fifth Prakaran of Satsangi jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as Dharmashastra (the rules of the code of conduct). 27