Shloka 48
Devanagari script
वृद्धबालौ न हन्तव्यौ न च स्त्री नैव पृछत:
Transliteration
vṛddhabālau na hantavyau na ca strī naiva pṛcchataḥ
Translation
“The aged and the young are not to be slain; nor is a woman to be harmed—such persons are not to be treated as targets of violence.”
Word by Word
वृद्धबालौthe old and the child (two persons)
वृद्धबालौ:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootवृद्ध + बाल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
हन्तव्यौto be killed / should be killed
हन्तव्यौ:
TypeVerb
Rootहन्
Formतव्यत् (gerundive/future passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Dual
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
स्त्रीa woman
स्त्री:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootस्त्री
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
एवindeed / just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
पृच्छतः(they) ask / inquire
पृच्छतः:
TypeVerb
Rootप्रच्छ्
FormLat (present), Parasmaipada, Third, Dual
Speaker
अम्बरीष उवाच
Characters & Entities
A
AmbarīṣaT
the aged (vṛddha)C
children/the young (bāla)W
women (strī)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Cross References
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Dharma places firm limits on violence: the elderly, children, and women are to be protected and not treated as legitimate objects of killing or harm.
Ambarīṣa is articulating a normative rule of righteous behavior—guidance for kings and warriors—by specifying protected categories who must not be slain, thereby defining ethical boundaries for the use of force.