Shloka 14
कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
हतं हन्ति हतो होव यो नरो हन्ति कठ्चन । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो यश्न हन्ति हतश्ष यः
hataṃ hanti hato hova yo naro hanti kaścana | ubhau tau na vijānīto yaś ca hanti hataś ca yaḥ ||
Śakra dit : « L’homme qui tue un autre est, en vérité, lui-même déjà “tué” : il ne frappe que ce qui est déjà tué. Le meurtrier comme la victime ne comprennent pas l’ātman ; car l’ātman n’est ni l’agent ni l’objet de l’acte de tuer. »
श॒क्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that violence is rooted in ignorance of the ātman: the Self is not truly killed and is not the true doer of killing. Therefore, both the killer and the killed are described as lacking Self-knowledge, and the ethical thrust is to turn from harm toward insight and restraint.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Śakra (Indra) delivers a reflective teaching that reframes killing through the lens of the imperishable Self, emphasizing that ordinary notions of slayer and slain arise from misunderstanding.