Shloka 21
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
गोब्राह्मणनृपस्त्रीषु सख्युर्मातुर्गुरोस्तथा,'गौ, ब्राह्मण, राजा, स्त्री, मित्र, माता, गुरु, दुर्बल, जड, अन्धे, सोये हुए, डरे हुए, मतवाले, उन्मत्त और असावधान पुरुषोंपर मनुष्य शस्त्र न चलाये
sañjaya uvāca | gobrāhmaṇanṛpastrīṣu sakhyur mātur guros tathā | durbale jaḍa-andhe ca suptabhīte madotkaṭe | unmatte cāpramatte ca na śastraṃ pātayet pumān ||
Sañjaya said: A man should not strike with weapons those who are cows, brāhmaṇas, kings, or women; nor one’s friend, mother, or teacher. Likewise, one should not attack the weak, the dull-witted, the blind, those who are asleep or frightened, those overcome by intoxication, the deranged, or the heedless. This is stated as a restraint of dharma even amid the violence of war, marking who must be protected and who must not be exploited in moments of vulnerability.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in wartime, dharma imposes strict limits: one must not use weapons against protected persons (cow, brāhmaṇa, king, woman, friend, mother, teacher) or against those incapacitated or vulnerable (weak, dull, blind, asleep, frightened, intoxicated, deranged, heedless). The verse frames restraint as a moral boundary that prevents victory from becoming mere cruelty.
Sañjaya reports a normative rule about whom a warrior should not attack. In the Sauptika context—where night-raid violence and the killing of sleepers becomes central—this statement highlights the ethical tension between dharma-yuddha ideals and the adharma-like acts that occur in the episode.