यथोीक्तवादिन दूत॑ क्षत्रधर्मरतो नृपः । यो हन्यात् पितरस्तस्य भ्रूणहत्यामवाप्तुयु:,क्षत्रियधर्ममें तत्पर रहनेवाला जो राजा अपने स्वामीके कथनानुसार यथार्थ बातें कहनेवाले दूतको मार डालता है, उसके पितरोंको भ्रूणहत्याके फलका भोग करना पड़ता है
yathokta-vādinam dūtaṁ kṣatra-dharma-rato nṛpaḥ | yo hanyāt pitaras tasya bhrūṇa-hatyām avāpnuyuḥ ||
ক্ষত্ৰধৰ্মত নিবিষ্ট ৰজাইও যদি নিজৰ স্বামীৰ কথামতে সত্য কথা কোৱা দূতক হত্যা কৰে, তেন্তে তাৰ পিতৃসকলক ভ্ৰূণহত্যাৰ ফল ভোগ কৰিবলগীয়া হয়।
भीष्म उवाच
A messenger who truthfully delivers his master’s words is ethically protected; killing such an envoy is a grave adharma whose karmic burden extends beyond the king to his ancestral line, expressed as the severe demerit likened to bhrūṇa-hatyā.
In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct in the Shanti Parva, he lays down a rule of statecraft and morality: even a duty-bound warrior-king must not harm an envoy who speaks as instructed; violating this norm brings catastrophic sin affecting the king’s forefathers.