Shloka 32
सैन्यसंनिवेशः (Sainyasaṃniveśaḥ) — Deployment, Omens, and Yuddha-Dharma Conventions
न सूतेषु न धुर्येषु न च शस्त्रोपनायिषु । न भेरीशड्खवादेषु प्रहर्तव्यं कथंचन
na sūteṣu na dhuryeṣu na ca śastropanāyiṣu | na bherīśaṅkhavādeṣu prahartavyaṃ kathaṃcana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “No one should strike, under any circumstance, those appointed as charioteers and attendants of horses, those who bear burdens, those who bring weapons, or those who sound the war-drums and conches.” The injunction frames a rule of righteous conduct in battle: non-combatant support personnel are not to be treated as legitimate targets.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a dharmic restraint in warfare: those serving supportive, non-frontline roles—charioteers/attendants, burden-bearers, weapon-carriers, and signal-instrument players—should not be attacked, emphasizing ethical limits even amid violence.
In the opening of Bhīṣma Parva, as the great battle is being organized and rules are being articulated, this instruction is voiced to define who counts as a legitimate target, protecting battlefield auxiliaries from assault.