Mahabharata 7.175.65 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 175, Shloka 65
नचात्र शूरान् मोक्ष्यामि न भीतान्न कृताञज्जलीन् । सवनिव वधिष्यामि राक्षसं धर्ममास्थित:
na cātra śūrān mokṣyāmi na bhītān na kṛtāñjalīn | savan iva vadhiṣyāmi rākṣasaṃ dharmam āsthitaḥ ||
„Hier werde ich niemanden verschonen — weder die Tapferen noch die Furchtsamen, nicht einmal jene, die mit gefalteten Händen flehen. Auf dem Gesetz der Rākṣasas stehend, werde ich sie alle niederschlagen wie ein Opfer im Ritual, ohne Ausnahme.“
घटोत्कच उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a deliberate shift from kṣatriya ideals of restraint to “rākṣasa-dharma,” where compassion and battlefield conventions (sparing the fearful or supplicants) are rejected. It frames an ethical contrast within the epic: different codes of conduct operate in war, and adopting a harsher code intensifies destruction and moral tension.
Ghaṭotkaca declares a vow of uncompromising slaughter in the battle: he will not spare even those who are brave, terrified, or begging with folded hands. By invoking “rākṣasa-dharma,” he signals the terrifying, non-conventional mode of combat associated with rākṣasas, escalating fear and chaos among the opposing forces.
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