Shloka 17
कालनिर्देशः शोकनिवारणं च
Instruction on Kāla and the Removal of Grief
प्रगृह् शस्त्रमायान्तमपि वेदान्तगं रणे | जिघांसन्तं जिघांसीयाजन्न तेन ब्रह्महा भवेत्
pragṛhya śastram āyāntam api vedāntagam raṇe | jighāṃsantaṃ jighāṃsīyāj na tena brahmahā bhavet ||
Vyāsa dit : «Même si un brāhmane, maître des Veda et du Vedānta, vient sur le champ de bataille l’arme à la main, résolu à tuer, il faut s’efforcer de le frapper à mort en retour. Agir ainsi, dans le contexte du combat et de la légitime défense, n’entraîne pas le péché de brahmahatyā, le meurtre d’un brāhmane.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states that the moral prohibition against harming a Brahmin is not applied in the same way when that Brahmin has taken up arms and is actively attempting to kill in battle; resisting him—even to the point of killing—is treated as a duty of self-defense/warfare and does not constitute brahmahatyā.
Vyāsa lays down a rule for battlefield conduct: if an opponent, even a highly learned Brahmin versed in Veda and Vedānta, approaches with a weapon intending to kill, the warrior should counter him lethally if necessary, without being branded a Brahmin-slayer.