Shloka 14
Hiḍimba’s Approach and Hiḍimbā’s Warning to Bhīmasena (हिडिम्बागमनम् / हिडिम्बा-भयवचनम्)
दया न तस्मिन् कर्तव्या शरणागत इत्युत । निरुद्धिग्नो हि भवति नहताज्जायते भयम्,“यह मेरी शरणमें आया है, यह सोचकर उसके प्रति दया नहीं दिखानी चाहिये। शत्रुको मार देनेसे ही राजा निर्भय हो सकता है। यदि शत्रु मारा नहीं गया तो उससे सदा ही भय बना रहता है
dayā na tasmin kartavyā śaraṇāgata ity uta | niruddhigno hi bhavati nihatāj jāyate bhayam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “One should not show compassion to him merely on the plea, ‘He has come seeking refuge.’ A king becomes truly secure only when the enemy is decisively struck down; if the foe is not slain, fear is born again and continues to haunt him.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a hard-edged principle of rājadharma: political security may require refusing mercy to an enemy even if he claims refuge, because an unslain foe can remain a continuing source of danger and fear.
Vaiśampāyana, in the course of narrating events in the Ādi Parva, reports a counsel or maxim about how a ruler should treat an adversary who seeks protection—emphasizing decisive action against threats rather than compassion based solely on a plea of surrender.