Shloka 15
पितृन् पितामहान् भ्रातृन् गुरून् सम्बन्धिबान्धवान् | मिथ्याप्रवृत्तान् यः संख्ये निहन्याद् धर्म एव सः,जो असत्यके मार्गपर चलनेवाले पिता (ताऊ-चाचा), बाबा, भाई, गुरुजन, सम्बन्धी तथा बन्धु-बान्धवोंको संग्राममें मार डालता है, उसका वह कार्य धर्म ही है
pitṝn pitāmahān bhrātṝn gurūn sambandhi-bāndhavān | mithyāpravṛttān yaḥ saṅkhye nihanyād dharma eva saḥ ||
Bhishma said: Even if they are one’s own fathers and forefathers, brothers, teachers, and other relatives and kinsmen—when they have taken to a false and unrighteous course—whoever slays them in battle does, in that very act, what is truly dharma.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
If close kin and revered elders have adopted an unrighteous course (mithyāpravṛtti), then opposing them—even to the point of killing in a just battle—is counted as dharma, because allegiance to truth and righteousness supersedes personal attachment.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma articulates a hard ethical principle for wartime duty: when relatives become agents of falsehood and adharma, a warrior’s obligation to uphold dharma can require fighting them without being restrained by familial bonds.