History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.45.2

v4.c62.45.2

Kauṭilya says ' if daṇḍa be not employed, it gives rise to the condition of *mātsyanyāya*, since in the absence of a chastiser the strong devour the weak ' and ' the people overwhelmed by the operation of mātsyanyāya made Manu Vaivasvata their king. ' ²² That in the absence of a king ( *arājaka* ) or when there is no fear of punishment, the condition of *mātsyanyāya* follows is declared by several works such as the Rāmāyaṇa II. chap. 67, Śāntiparva 15. 30 and 67. 16, Kāmandaka II. 40, Matsyapurāṇa 225. 9, Mānasollāsa II. 20 verse 1295. Numerous works contain eulogies of daṇḍa. The king is called daṇḍadhara in many works e. g. in Śāntiparva 67. 16 and Kām. I. 1. Gautama XI. 28 says that the word daṇḍa is derived by the wise from the root ' dam ' ( to control ), that he ( the king ) should control by means of daṇḍa those who observe no restraint and ( XI. 31 ) that the instructions of the teacher and the power of punishment (wielded by the king) guard those who violate the rules of varṇas and āśramas. The Matsyapurāṇa ²³ 225. 17, Aginpurāṇa 226. 16 and Śāntiparva 15. 8 state that daṇḍa is so called because it suppresses those that are not restrained (from the root ‘dam’) and punishes those that are imprudent or ungentlemanlike (from the root ‘daṇḍ’). Daṇḍa is raised to the position of a divinity by Manu²⁴ VII. 25 (= Viṣṇudharma_sūtra III. 95 = Matsya 225. 8), Yāj. I. 354, Śānti 121. 15.