Shloka 24
भीष्म–जामदग्न्यसंवादः (Amba-prasaṅga and Kurukṣetra Dvandva Declaration) / Bhishma–Jamadagnya Dialogue
ये ते वेदा: शरीरस्था ब्राह्माण्यं यच्च ते महत् । तपश्च ते महत् तप्तं न तेभ्य: प्रहराम्यहम्,“विप्रवर! आपके शरीरमें जो वेद हैं, जो आपका महान् ब्राह्मणत्व है तथा आपने जो बड़ी भारी तपस्या की है, उन सबके ऊपर मैं बाणोंका प्रहार नहीं करता हूँ
ye te vedāḥ śarīrasthā brāhmaṇyaṁ yac ca te mahat | tapaś ca te mahat taptaṁ na tebhyaḥ praharāmy aham ||
Rāma said: “The Vedas that abide in your very person, your great status of brahminhood, and the mighty austerity you have performed—against these I do not direct my arrows. Out of reverence for sacred learning and ascetic merit, I will not strike you in a way that violates the honor due to a foremost brāhmaṇa.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid conflict, one must restrain violence in deference to dharma—honoring sacred learning (Vedas), brahminhood, and ascetic merit, and refusing to attack in a way that desecrates those revered qualities.
Rāma addresses a revered brāhmaṇa-like opponent and declares that he will not aim his weapons at the opponent’s sanctity—his embodied Vedic learning, brahmin status, and accumulated tapas—thus framing the encounter within ethical limits.