Shloka 11
न तत्रासीदधर्मिष्ठमशस्तं युद्धमेव च । नात्र कर्णी न नालीको न लिप्तो न च बस्तिक:,वहाँ अधर्मपूर्ण और निन्दनीय युद्ध नहीं हो रहा था, उसमें कर्णी>, नालीकःठ, विष लगाये हुए बाण और वस्तिकः नामक अस्त्रका प्रयोग नहीं होता था
na tatrāsīd adharmiṣṭham aśastaṃ yuddham eva ca | nātra karṇī na nālīko na lipto na ca bastikaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “There, the fighting was not of an unrighteous kind, nor was it a blameworthy battle. In that encounter, neither the karṇī nor the nālīka, nor poison-smeared arrows, nor the weapon called bastika was employed.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid war, dharma sets limits: censurable methods—such as poison-coated missiles and certain prohibited weapons—are rejected, and a battle is praised when it stays within accepted rules of combat.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a particular engagement was being fought in a comparatively righteous manner: it was not an adharmic or blameworthy fight, and specific dangerous or disapproved weapons (karṇī, nālīka, poison-smeared arrows, and bastika) were not used.