Shloka 131
वृद्धां प्रवजितां चैव तथैव च पतिव्रताम् । तथा निकृष्टवर्णा च वर्णोत्कृष्टां च वर्जयेत्
vṛddhāṃ pravrajitāṃ caiva tathaiva ca pativratām | tathā nikṛṣṭavarṇā ca varṇotkṛṣṭāṃ ca varjayet ||
Bhīṣma said: One should refrain from harming or violating a woman who is aged, or who has renounced worldly life, or who is devoted to her husband; likewise, one should also refrain from targeting a woman of a socially ‘lower’ varṇa as well as one of a ‘higher’ varṇa. The ethical point is restraint: certain persons are to be treated as inviolable, and one must not let social distinctions become a pretext for wrongdoing.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches restraint and non-violation: one should avoid targeting or wronging women who are elderly, renunciants, or devoted wives, and one should not justify harm based on varṇa distinctions—neither ‘lower’ nor ‘higher’ status makes someone a legitimate target.
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and proper conduct. Here he lays down a rule of avoidance—identifying categories of women who must be treated as inviolable and emphasizing ethical restraint irrespective of social rank.