Mahabharata — Udyoga Parva, Shloka 51
अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः
Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge
उद्यतेषुमथो दृष्ट्वा ब्राह्म॒णं क्षत्रबन्धुवत् । यो हन्यात् समरे क्रुद्धं युध्यन्तमपलायिनम्
udyateṣu matho dṛṣṭvā brāhmaṇaṁ kṣatrabandhuvat | yo hanyāt samare kruddhaṁ yudhyantam apalāyinam ||
यदि कोई ब्राह्मण भी क्षत्रिय की भाँति शस्त्र उठा ले—रण में क्रोध से भरकर सामने से युद्ध करे और पीठ दिखाकर न भागे—तो उसे उस अवस्था में देखकर जो योद्धा समर में मार देता है, उसे ब्रह्महत्या का दोष नहीं लगता। यह धर्मशास्त्रों का निश्चय है। हे तपोधन! मैं क्षत्रिय हूँ और क्षत्रिय-धर्म में स्थित हूँ।
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-legal principle: if a brāhmaṇa abandons the protected noncombatant role and fights as an armed combatant without retreat, then killing him in fair battle is treated as a wartime act under kṣatriya-dharma, not as brahmahatyā. It emphasizes role-based dharma and contextual judgment in warfare.
Rāma is justifying a kṣatriya’s conduct in battle by citing dharmaśāstra: when a brāhmaṇa takes up arms and fights like a warrior, he is to be regarded as a combatant; therefore a warrior who kills him in that state is not blamed with the gravest sin. Rāma then asserts his own identity and obligation as a kṣatriya.