Mahabharata 12.283.7

श्रूयन्ते हि पुराणे वै प्रजा धिग्दण्डशासनाःदान्ता धर्मप्रधानाश्च न्यायधर्मानुवर्तकाः

śrūyante hi purāṇe vai prajā dhigdaṇḍaśāsanāḥdāntā dharmapradhānāśca nyāyadharmānuvartakāḥ

Our plain-language meaning of this verse is waiting for scholar review.