Shloka 17
प्रगृह् शस्त्रमायान्तमपि वेदान्तगं रणे | जिघांसन्तं जिघांसीयाजन्न तेन ब्रह्महा भवेत्,यदि युद्धस्थलमें वेदवेदान्तोंका पारगामी दिद्वान् ब्राह्मण भी हाथमें हथियार लेकर मारनेके लिये आवे तो स्वयं भी उसको मार डालनेकी चेष्टा करे। इससे ब्रह्महत्याका पाप नहीं लगता है
pragṛhya śastram āyāntam api vedāntagam raṇe | jighāṃsantaṃ jighāṃsīyāj na tena brahmahā bhavet ||
Vyāsa said: “Even if a Brahmin who has mastered the Vedas and Vedānta comes onto the battlefield with a weapon, intent on killing, one should strive to kill him in return. By doing so in the context of battle and self-defense, one does not incur the sin of Brahmin-slaying (brahmahatyā).”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states that the moral prohibition against harming a Brahmin is not applied in the same way when that Brahmin has taken up arms and is actively attempting to kill in battle; resisting him—even to the point of killing—is treated as a duty of self-defense/warfare and does not constitute brahmahatyā.
Vyāsa lays down a rule for battlefield conduct: if an opponent, even a highly learned Brahmin versed in Veda and Vedānta, approaches with a weapon intending to kill, the warrior should counter him lethally if necessary, without being branded a Brahmin-slayer.