Shloka 46
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
भार्यभिहर्ता वैरी यो यश्व राज्यहरो रिपु: | याचमानोडपि संग्रामे न मोक्तव्य: कथंचन,“जो अपनी पत्नीका अपहरण करनेवाला तथा राज्यको हड़प लेनेवाला हो, ऐसे शत्रुको युद्धमें पाकर वह प्राणोंकी भीख माँगे तो भी किसी तरह जीवित नहीं छोड़ना चाहिये”
bhāryābhihartā vairī yo yaśva rājya-haro ripuḥ | yācamāno 'pi saṅgrāme na moktavyaḥ kathaṃcana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “An enemy who has abducted one’s wife and a foe who has usurped one’s kingdom—when such a man is met in battle, even if he begs for his life, he should not be spared under any circumstances.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a strict kṣatriya ethic: certain grave offenses—abducting a wife and usurping a kingdom—place an enemy beyond the mercy normally shown to a supplicant in battle; even if he begs, he is not to be spared.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, as narrator, states a rule of conduct for warfare: when confronting in combat an enemy guilty of wife-abduction or kingdom-usurpation, the warrior should not release him alive, even upon his plea for life.