Mahabharata 7.175.65 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 175, Shloka 65
नचात्र शूरान् मोक्ष्यामि न भीतान्न कृताञज्जलीन् । सवनिव वधिष्यामि राक्षसं धर्ममास्थित:
na cātra śūrān mokṣyāmi na bhītān na kṛtāñjalīn | savan iva vadhiṣyāmi rākṣasaṃ dharmam āsthitaḥ ||
Dalam pertempuran ini aku tidak akan menyisakan siapa pun—bukan para pemberani, bukan pula yang ketakutan, bahkan tidak mereka yang memohon dengan tangan terkatup. Berpegang pada dharma para rākṣasa, akan kutumpas semuanya laksana persembahan kurban.
घटोत्कच उवाच
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The verse highlights a deliberate shift from kṣatriya ideals of restraint to “rākṣasa-dharma,” where compassion and battlefield conventions (sparing the fearful or supplicants) are rejected. It frames an ethical contrast within the epic: different codes of conduct operate in war, and adopting a harsher code intensifies destruction and moral tension.
Ghaṭotkaca declares a vow of uncompromising slaughter in the battle: he will not spare even those who are brave, terrified, or begging with folded hands. By invoking “rākṣasa-dharma,” he signals the terrifying, non-conventional mode of combat associated with rākṣasas, escalating fear and chaos among the opposing forces.
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