Shloka 24
Śakra–Śambara Saṃvāda: Brāhmaṇa-sevā, Anasūyā, and Vāg-bala (शक्रशम्बरसंवादः)
यस्तु सर्वमिदं हन्याद् ब्राह्मणं च न तत्समम् | ब्रह्मवध्या महान् दोष इत्याहु: परमर्षय:
bhīṣma uvāca | yastu sarvam idaṃ hanyād brāhmaṇaṃ ca na tat-samam | brahma-vadhyā mahān doṣa ity āhuḥ paramarṣayaḥ ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: Aunque un hombre destruyera este mundo entero, ese pecado no es igual al pecado de matar a un brāhmaṇa. Los más altos sabios declaran que el brahmahatyā—la muerte de un brāhmaṇa—es una falta moral gravísima.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a hierarchy of moral transgressions: brahmahatyā (killing a Brahmin) is singled out by the sages as an exceptionally grave sin, not comparable even to mass destruction, because it is seen as an assault on the sanctity of spiritual knowledge and the dharmic foundations of society.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma is instructing Yudhishthira on dharma and ethical conduct. Here he cites the judgment of the highest sages to emphasize the extraordinary seriousness attributed to the killing of a Brahmin.