Shloka 36
दुन्दुभिवधप्रसङ्गः
The Dundubhi Episode and the Proof of Rama’s Prowess
यो हि मत्तं प्रमत्तं वा सुप्तं वा रहितं भृशम्।हन्यात्स भ्रूणहा लोके त्वद्विधं मदमोहितम्4.11.36।।
yo hi mattaṃ pramattaṃ vā suptaṃ vā rahitaṃ bhṛśam |
hanyāt sa bhrūṇahā loke tvadvidhaṃ madamohitam ||
Whoever kills one who is drunk, or careless, or asleep, or utterly unprepared—one stupefied by intoxication like you—he is in this world a slayer of an unborn child.
'Whoever kills a person, who is drunk or is heedless or is asleep or without weapons or stupified by lust in this world, is equal to a killer of a foetus in the womb.'
FAQs
Yuddha-dharma (ethics of combat): it is gravely sinful to kill an opponent who is incapacitated (drunk, asleep, unarmed, heedless). A fair fight requires awareness and readiness.
Dundubhi frames a moral constraint on killing the unready, while simultaneously insulting Vali as if he were intoxicated or deluded.
The ideal of fairness in battle—avoiding treachery and attacking only a prepared opponent.