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 ||
शक्र ने कहा—जो मनुष्य किसी की हत्या करता है, वह वास्तव में स्वयं मरा हुआ होकर मरे हुए को ही मारता है। जो मारता है और जो मारा जाता है—वे दोनों ही आत्मा को नहीं जानते; क्योंकि आत्मा न हनन-क्रिया का कर्ता है, न कर्म।
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.