Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c6.s3.8

c6.s3.8

Another conflicting issue is the choice between violence and non-violence. How can a king observe his duties and rule over the kingdom without hurting any of the subjects — this is the question Yudhiṣṭhira asks Bhīṣma in the beginning of the canto 267. Bhīṣma narrates the story of the dialogue between Dyumatsena and Satyavān. Even condemnation and censure could sometimes suffice as punishments for severe offences if the offender does not inflict further harm on the society.⁶³ In the next canto Kapila discusses the question of violence in the rituals. And then he reverts back to the tussle between *pravṛtti* (empiricism) and *nivṛtti* (renunciation).