Shloka 28
सैन्यसंनिवेशः (Sainyasaṃniveśaḥ) — Deployment, Omens, and Yuddha-Dharma Conventions
वाचा युद्धप्रवृत्तानां वाचैव प्रतियोधनम् । निष्क्रान्ता: पृतनामध्यान्न हन्तव्या: कदाचन
vāca yuddhapravṛttānāṁ vācāiva pratiyodhanam | niṣkrāntāḥ pṛtanāmadhyān na hantavyāḥ kadācana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Those who engage only in a battle of words should be answered with words alone. And those who have stepped out from the midst of the army should never be slain.” The verse sets forth battlefield conduct as ruled by restraint and propriety: speech-contests are not to be met with weapons, and a combatant who has withdrawn from the fighting mass is to be spared.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches dharma-yuddha restraint: verbal provocation should be met verbally, not with weapons, and a person who has stepped out from the battle formation is not to be slain.
In the opening of Bhīṣma Parva, Vaiśaṃpāyana recounts norms of righteous warfare being articulated—guidelines that distinguish fair combat from cruelty, emphasizing proportional response and protection of those who have withdrawn.