Shloka 27
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
यस्त्ववध्यवधे दोष: स वध्यस्यावधे स्मृत: । सा चैव खलूु मर्यादा यामयं परिवर्जयेत्
yas tv avadhya-vadhe doṣaḥ sa vadhyasyāvadhau smṛtaḥ | sā caiva khalu maryādā yām ayaṃ parivarjayet ||
Bhishma said: “The fault that is recognized in killing one who ought not to be slain is likewise recognized in failing to slay one who ought to be slain. That very rule is the boundary of what must not be done—yet it is a boundary that a Kshatriya king, in the discharge of his duty, should set aside.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches a symmetry of moral responsibility: killing the protected (avadhya) is blameworthy, but so is sparing the punishable (vadhya) when justice requires action. For a Kshatriya ruler, restraint has limits; failing to punish can be as ethically culpable as wrongful violence.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma advises the king (Yudhishthira in the broader dialogue) about the proper use of royal force and punishment. He frames the king’s duty as maintaining order: avoiding unjust killing while also not neglecting necessary punishment.