Shloka 125
न च सुप्तं प्रमत्तं वा न्यस्तशस्त्रं कृताउ्जलिम् | धावन्तं मुक्तकेशं वा हन्ति पार्थो धनंजय:,“कुन्तीनन्दन अर्जुन सोये हुए, असावधान, शस्त्रहीन, हाथ जोड़े हुए, भागते हुए अथवा बाल खोलकर दीनता दिखाते हुए मनुष्यको कभी नहीं मारते हैं
na ca suptaṁ pramattaṁ vā nyastaśastraṁ kṛtāñjalim | dhāvantaṁ muktakeśaṁ vā hanti pārtho dhanañjayaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Arjuna—Pārtha, Dhanañjaya, the son of Kuntī—does not strike a man who is asleep or heedless, who has laid aside his weapons, who stands with folded hands in supplication, who is fleeing, or who lets his hair loose to display helplessness.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, dharma imposes limits: a righteous warrior should not kill those who are defenseless—sleeping, careless, unarmed, supplicating with folded hands, fleeing, or visibly surrendering. Arjuna is presented as embodying this restraint.
In the Sauptika Parva context—where night-time slaughter and attacks on the unsuspecting are central—Sañjaya highlights Arjuna’s established conduct in battle, contrasting his standards with acts that violate the accepted code of combat.