Shloka 78
भीष्मपर्व — अध्याय ११०: पार्थभीमयोः प्रहारः तथा भीष्माभिमुखं संग्रामविस्तारः
Arjuna and Bhima’s pressure; escalation toward Bhishma
द्रवमाणे च भीते च तवास्मीति च वादिनि । स्त्रियां स्त्रीनामथेये च विकले चैकपुत्रके
dravamāṇe ca bhīte ca tavāsmīti ca vādini | striyāṃ strīṇām atheye ca vikale caikaputrake
Bhīṣma said: “One should not strike or harm a woman—especially when she is fleeing in panic, when she is afraid, when she cries ‘I am yours’ in surrender, when she is among women and without protection, when she is disabled or helpless, or when she is the sole mother of an only son.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma articulates a dharmic restraint: even amid conflict, one must protect those who are vulnerable and non-combatant—especially women in fear, flight, surrender, isolation, disability, or precarious family dependence (an only son).
In Bhīṣma Parva, Bhīṣma is presenting norms of righteous conduct connected with warfare and protection. This verse lists specific conditions under which a woman is to be treated as inviolable and safeguarded rather than harmed.