Shloka 27
सुप्तं वाथ प्रमत्तं वा यथा हन्याद् विषेण वा
suptaṁ vātha pramattaṁ vā yathā hanyād viṣeṇa vā
Sañjaya said: “Just as one might strike down a man who is asleep or heedless—or even destroy him by poison—so too is such a mode of killing spoken of,” implying a censurable, stealthy act that violates the warrior’s code of open combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that killing someone who is asleep or inattentive—especially by covert means like poison—is ethically blameworthy in the Mahābhārata’s war-ethics framework, contrasting stealthy harm with righteous, face-to-face combat.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, uses a comparison: slaying an unguarded person (asleep or careless) or poisoning him exemplifies an underhanded method of killing, invoked to judge or characterize conduct in the unfolding battle context.