Shloka 27
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
यथोीक्तवादिन दूत॑ क्षत्रधर्मरतो नृपः । यो हन्यात् पितरस्तस्य भ्रूणहत्यामवाप्तुयु:
yathokta-vādinam dūtaṁ kṣatra-dharma-rato nṛpaḥ | yo hanyāt pitaras tasya bhrūṇa-hatyām avāpnuyuḥ ||
Sekalipun seorang raja teguh pada dharma ksatria, bila ia membunuh utusan yang hanya menyampaikan kebenaran sesuai titah tuannya, maka para leluhurnya harus menanggung akibat dosa besar—seumpama dosa membunuh janin.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A messenger who truthfully delivers his master’s words is ethically protected; killing such an envoy is a grave adharma whose karmic burden extends beyond the king to his ancestral line, expressed as the severe demerit likened to bhrūṇa-hatyā.
In Bhishma’s instruction on righteous conduct in the Shanti Parva, he lays down a rule of statecraft and morality: even a duty-bound warrior-king must not harm an envoy who speaks as instructed; violating this norm brings catastrophic sin affecting the king’s forefathers.