Shloka 19
मा सम तात रणे स्थित्वा भुज्जीथा दुर्बलं जनम् । मा त्वां दुर्बलचक्षूंषि दहन्त्वग्निरिवाश्रयम्,तात! तुम युद्धमें संलग्न होकर दुर्बल मनुष्यको कर लेनेके द्वारा अपने उपभोगका विषय न बनाना। जैसे आग अपने आश्रयभूत काष्ठको जला देती है, उसी प्रकार दुर्बलोंकी दृष्टि तुम्हें दग्ध न कर डाले
mā sama tāta raṇe sthitvā bhuñjīthā durbalaṃ janam | mā tvāṃ durbalacakṣūṃṣi dahantv agnir ivāśrayam, tāta ||
Utathya said: “Dear child, do not, while standing in battle, make the weak your prey and turn them into an object of your enjoyment. Beware: the gaze of the helpless can burn you—just as fire consumes the very fuel that shelters it.”
उतथ्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, dharma forbids exploiting the powerless; harming the weak invites moral and karmic backlash, symbolized by the ‘burning’ gaze of the helpless.
Utathya admonishes a younger person (addressed as ‘tāta’) not to prey upon weak people during battle, warning through a vivid simile that the suffering and resentment of the oppressed can destroy the aggressor like fire consuming its own support.