Shloka 20
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
मोघमन्नं विन्दति चाप्यचेता: स्वर्गाल्लोकाद् भ्रश्यति नष्टचेष्ट: । भीतं प्रपन्न॑ प्रददाति यो वै न तस्य हव्यं॑ प्रतिगृह्नन्ति देवा:,“जो भयभीत शरणागतको शत्रुके हाथमें सौंप देता है, वह दुर्बलचित्त मानव जो अन्न ग्रहण करता है, वह व्यर्थ हो जाता है। उसके सारे उद्यम नष्ट हो जाते हैं और वह स्वर्गलोकसे नीचे गिर जाता है। इतना ही नहीं, देवतालोग उसके दिये हुए हविष्यको स्वीकार नहीं करते हैं
mogham annaṁ vindati cāpy acetāḥ svargāl lokād bhraśyati naṣṭaceṣṭaḥ | bhītaṁ prapannaṁ pradadāti yo vai na tasya havyaṁ pratigṛhṇanti devāḥ ||
“Whoever hands over to the enemy a frightened one who has sought refuge—he, feeble in understanding, finds even his food to be fruitless; all his endeavors collapse, and he falls from the heavenly worlds. Moreover, the gods do not accept the sacrificial oblations he offers.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that betraying a frightened person who has sought refuge is a grave breach of dharma. Such treachery destroys one’s merit and spiritual standing: even ordinary enjoyments become ‘fruitless,’ one falls from heavenly attainments, and one’s ritual offerings lose efficacy because the gods do not accept them.
Śalya is articulating a moral warning within the Udyoga Parva’s counsel-laden context: in the lead-up to war and political decision-making, he condemns the act of delivering a terrified suppliant into an enemy’s hands, describing its karmic and religious consequences.