Shloka 26
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
कृताञ्जले: प्रपन्नस्य प्रमत्तस्य तथैव च | न वध: पूज्यते सद्धिस्तच्च सर्व गुरौ तव
kṛtāñjaleḥ prapannasya pramattasya tathaiva ca | na vadhaḥ pūjyate sadbhis tac ca sarvaṃ gurau tava mānada ||
قال شري كريشنا: «إن الصالحين لا يجيزون قتلَ من جاء مستجيرًا، ولا من وقف ضارعًا بكفّين مضمومتين، ولا من كان غافلًا غير مستعد. فمثل هذا القتل لا يُكرَّم بين أهل البرّ. ويا واهب الشرف، فإن هذه الأحوال كلّها تنطبق على أخيك الأكبر.»
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma sets limits: the righteous do not praise killing someone who has surrendered, is pleading with folded hands, or is unprepared and heedless. Victory must not be sought through dishonorable violence against the defenseless.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses a warrior and invokes accepted rules of righteous combat, arguing that the opponent—identified as the listener’s elder brother—fits the protected categories (surrendered/pleading/heedless), and therefore should not be slain in that condition.