Shloka 17
यजमानांस्तु तान् दृष्टवा सर्वान् दीक्षानुकर्शितान् । हन्तुमैच्छन्त शैलाभा: खलिनो नाम दानवा:,“समस्त देवता यज्ञकी दीक्षा लेकर दुबले हो रहे थे। उन्हें यज्ञ करते देख पर्वतके समान शरीरवाले खली" नामक दानवोंने उन सबको मार डालनेका विचार किया (फिर तो दोनों दलोंमें युद्ध छिड़ गया)
yajamānāṁs tu tān dṛṣṭvā sarvān dīkṣānukarśitān | hantum aicchanta śailābhāḥ khalino nāma dānavāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: Seeing all those sacrificers—every one of them emaciated by the disciplines of consecration (dīkṣā)—the Dānavas named Khalin, whose bodies were like mountains, desired to slay them. The episode shows how those weakened by sacred vows may become targets of adharma, and how violence against a yajña is deemed a grave moral transgression that summons conflict.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Harming those engaged in yajña and weakened by dīkṣā is portrayed as adharma; sacred observance deserves protection, and aggression against it becomes a moral fault that precipitates justified resistance and wider conflict.
The Dānavas called Khalin see the sacrificers (devas/ritual performers) grown thin from consecration vows and decide to kill them, setting the stage for a clash between opposing forces over the integrity of the sacrifice.