Shloka 27
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
यथोीक्तवादिन दूत॑ क्षत्रधर्मरतो नृपः । यो हन्यात् पितरस्तस्य भ्रूणहत्यामवाप्तुयु:,क्षत्रियधर्ममें तत्पर रहनेवाला जो राजा अपने स्वामीके कथनानुसार यथार्थ बातें कहनेवाले दूतको मार डालता है, उसके पितरोंको भ्रूणहत्याके फलका भोग करना पड़ता है
yathokta-vādinam dūtaṁ kṣatra-dharma-rato nṛpaḥ | yo hanyāt pitaras tasya bhrūṇa-hatyām avāpnuyuḥ ||
Bhishma said: Even if a king is devoted to the warrior’s code, if he kills a messenger who merely speaks the truth as instructed by his master, then that king’s forefathers are made to suffer the consequence of a most grievous sin—here described as the grave demerit of killing an unborn child (bhrūṇa-hatyā). The verse underscores the ethical inviolability of envoys and the far-reaching, ancestral burden created by violating that protection.
भीष्म उवाच