Shloka 21
Amba’s Disclosure of Prior Choice (Śālva) and Appeal to Bhīṣma — Chapter 171
सर्वास्त्वन्यान् हनिष्यामि पार्थिवान् भरतर्षभ | यान् समेष्यामि समरे न तु कुन्तीसुतान् नूप
sarvāstv anyān haniṣyāmi pārthivān bharatarṣabha | yān sameṣyāmi samare na tu kuntīsutān nṛpa bharataśreṣṭha ||
Bhīṣma said: “O bull among the Bharatas, I shall slay all other kings whom I encounter on the battlefield; but I will never kill the sons of Kuntī.” In the ethical frame of the epic, Bhīṣma declares a self-imposed limit within war: though bound to fight for the Kauravas, he refuses to cross a personal moral boundary against the Pāṇḍavas, to whom he is tied by duty, affection, and lineage.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within the obligations of war, a warrior may uphold self-chosen ethical restraints. Bhīṣma affirms kṣatriya resolve to fight, yet refuses to violate a deeper loyalty to the sons of Kuntī, illustrating the Mahābhārata’s tension between duty to a throne and duty to kin and conscience.
In Udyoga Parva, as war becomes inevitable and commanders are being assessed, Bhīṣma states his battle intention: he will fight fiercely against other allied kings he meets, but he will not kill the Pāṇḍavas (Kuntī’s sons), marking a significant limitation on his role in the coming Kurukṣetra war.