Shloka 8
न प्रमत्ताय भीताय विरथाय प्रयाचते । व्यसने वर्तमानाय प्रहरन्ति मनस्विन:,मनस्वी पुरुष असावधान, डरे हुए, रथहीन, प्राणों-की भिक्षा माँगनेवाले तथा संकटमें पड़े हुए मनुष्यपर प्रहार नहीं करते हैं
na pramattāya bhītāya virathāya prayācate | vyasane vartamānāya praharanti manasvinaḥ ||
Bhūriśravā said: “Men of true spirit do not strike one who is heedless, or frightened, or deprived of his chariot, or who is begging for his life—nor one who is already caught in calamity. Such a blow is not valor but a breach of warrior-ethics.”
भूरिश्रवा उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse states a principle of dharma-yuddha: a noble warrior should not attack an opponent who is defenseless or morally protected by circumstance—such as being off-guard, frightened, without a chariot, pleading for life, or already overwhelmed by disaster. Honor in battle is measured by restraint as much as by strength.
Bhūriśravā articulates battlefield ethics at a tense moment in the Drona Parva, invoking accepted norms of fair combat. His statement functions as a moral claim about when striking an enemy becomes adharma—especially when the opponent is disadvantaged (like being viratha) or seeking mercy.