Shloka 31
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
एवं चैव नरश्रेष्ठ रक्ष्या एव द्विजातय: । सापराधानपि हि तान् विषयान्ते समुत्सूजेत्,नरश्रेष्ठ॒ यह सब होनेपर भी ब्राह्मणोंकी तो सदा रक्षा ही करनी चाहिये; यदि उनके द्वारा अपराध बन गये हों तो उन्हें प्राणदण्ड न देकर अपने राज्यकी सीमासे बाहर करके छोड़ देना चाहिये
evaṃ caiva naraśreṣṭha rakṣyā eva dvijātayaḥ | sāparādhān api hi tān viṣayānte samutsṛjet |
Bhīṣma said: “Even so, O best of men, the twice-born must always be protected. Even if they have committed offenses, one should not inflict capital punishment upon them; rather, one should expel them beyond the borders of one’s realm and let them go.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s punishment must be restrained by dharma: even when the twice-born commit offenses, they are not to be executed; the appropriate penalty is expulsion beyond the kingdom’s borders, maintaining protection while still upholding order.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the ruler on how to deal with offenders among the twice-born, prescribing exile at the frontier rather than capital punishment.