Shloka 31
छिन्नबाहुं परैर्हन्यात् सात्यके स कथं वदेत् । सात्यके! जो युद्धस्थलमें मुनिवृत्तिका आश्रय ले आमरण उपवासका निश्चय लेकर बैठ गया हो, जो अपने साथ युद्ध न कर रहा हो तथा जिसकी बाँह भी शत्रुओंद्वारा काट डाली गयी हो, ऐसे पुरुषको जो मार सकता है, वह दूसरेकी निन्दा कैसे कर सकता है? ।। निहत्य त्वां पदा भूमौ स विकर्षति वीर्यवान्
chinnabāhuṃ parair hanyāt sātyake sa kathaṃ vadet | sātyake! yo yuddhasthale munivṛttikām āśritya ā-maraṇam upavāsasya niścayaṃ kṛtvā upaviṣṭaḥ syāt, yo na saha yudhyate, yasya ca bāhuḥ śatrubhiś chinnā, tādṛśaṃ puruṣaṃ yo hantuṃ śaknoti sa kathaṃ anyasya nindāṃ kuryāt || nihatya tvāṃ padā bhūmau sa vikarṣati vīryavān |
Dhṛṣṭadyumna said: “How could that man speak, O Sātyaki, who would strike down one whose arm has been cut off by enemies? O Sātyaki—if someone, on the battlefield, has taken up the life of an ascetic, resolved to fast until death, sits apart without fighting alongside his comrades, and even has his arm severed by foes—how can a man who is capable of killing such a person presume to censure another? Having slain you, that mighty warrior would drag you along the ground with his foot.”
धृष्टह्युम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage condemns moral posturing in war: one who is willing to kill a helpless or withdrawn opponent (maimed, fasting unto death, not fighting) has no standing to criticize others. It highlights the ethical tension between battlefield duty and the dishonor of attacking the defenseless, and it warns against hypocrisy in judging others.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna addresses Sātyaki, arguing that a certain powerful warrior—capable of killing even a maimed, non-combatant-like figure—cannot credibly blame others. He intensifies the warning by saying that after killing Sātyaki, that warrior would even drag his body along the ground, underscoring brutality and the stakes of the conflict.