Shloka 6
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
ऊचुश्न वाच: परुषास्ते राजानो युयुत्सव: । आहवे हि द्विजस्यापि वधो दृष्टो युयुत्मत:,तब युद्धके लिये उत्सुक उन राजाओंने कठोर स्वरमें ये बातें कहीं--युद्धकी इच्छावाले ब्राह्मणका भी रणभूमिमें वध शास्त्रानुकूल देखा गया है”
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: ūcuḥ sma vācaḥ paruṣās te rājāno yuyutsavaḥ | āhave hi dvijasya api vadho dṛṣṭo yuyutmataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Those kings, eager to fight, spoke in harsh words: “Indeed, in battle even the killing of a brāhmaṇa has been seen as sanctioned by the codes—when he is himself bent on fighting.” The statement frames a grim wartime ethic: the ordinary reverence owed to a brāhmaṇa is argued to be overridden when he adopts the role and intent of a combatant, and the speakers use this to justify severity in the coming conflict.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a wartime ethical claim: social-religious status (dvija/brāhmaṇa) does not grant immunity if one adopts the intention and role of a fighter; the speakers appeal to precedent and śāstric reasoning to justify harsh action in battle.
Vaiśampāyana reports that certain kings, eager for combat, respond harshly and argue that even a brāhmaṇa may be slain on the battlefield if he is himself war-minded—setting a justificatory tone for the conflict at hand.