Shloka 8
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
अरक्ष्यमाणं पार्थेन जिष्णुना ससुतानुजम् । न हन्यां नरके घोरे पतेयं वृष्णिपांसन
arakṣyamāṇaṁ pārthena jiṣṇunā sa-sutānujam | na hanyāṁ narake ghore pateyaṁ vṛṣṇipāṁsana ||
Sañjaya said: “If I were to slay him—though he stands unprotected by Pārtha (Arjuna), the victorious Jiṣṇu—together with his sons and younger brothers, I would surely fall into a dreadful hell. O scion of the Vṛṣṇis, such a killing would be a grievous sin.”
सयजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma restrains violence: killing someone who is unprotected—especially along with his sons and younger brothers—is portrayed as a grave adharma leading to severe karmic consequence (symbolized by ‘falling into dreadful hell’).
Sañjaya reports a speaker’s moral refusal to kill an opponent who is not being protected by Arjuna (Jiṣṇu). The line frames the act as ethically impermissible and spiritually ruinous, emphasizing rules of fair combat amid the brutality of the Drona Parva battles.