Shloka 27
कपोत-लुब्धकसंवादः — Hunter’s Remorse and Renunciatory Resolve
यस्त्ववध्यवधे दोष: स वध्यस्यावधे स्मृत: । सा चैव खलूु मर्यादा यामयं परिवर्जयेत्
yas tv avadhya-vadhe doṣaḥ sa vadhyasyāvadhau smṛtaḥ | sā caiva khalu maryādā yām ayaṃ parivarjayet ||
Dijo Bhishma: “La falta que se reconoce al matar a quien no debe ser muerto se reconoce igualmente al no matar a quien sí debe ser muerto. Esa misma norma es el límite de lo que no ha de hacerse; pero es un límite que un rey kshatriya, al cumplir su deber, debe dejar de lado.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches a symmetry of moral responsibility: killing the protected (avadhya) is blameworthy, but so is sparing the punishable (vadhya) when justice requires action. For a Kshatriya ruler, restraint has limits; failing to punish can be as ethically culpable as wrongful violence.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on governance and dharma, Bhishma advises the king (Yudhishthira in the broader dialogue) about the proper use of royal force and punishment. He frames the king’s duty as maintaining order: avoiding unjust killing while also not neglecting necessary punishment.