Shloka 65
नचात्र शूरान् मोक्ष्यामि न भीतान्न कृताञज्जलीन् । सवनिव वधिष्यामि राक्षसं धर्ममास्थित:,इस युद्धमें मैं न तो शूरवीरोंको जीवित छोड़ूँगा, न डरनेवालॉंको और न हाथ जोड़नेवालोंको ही। राक्षस-धर्मका आश्रय लेकर सबका ही संहार कर डालूँगा
na cātra śūrān mokṣyāmi na bhītān na kṛtāñjalīn | savan iva vadhiṣyāmi rākṣasaṃ dharmam āsthitaḥ ||
“Here I will spare no one—neither the brave, nor the frightened, nor even those who plead with folded hands. Standing upon the code of the rākṣasas, I will strike them down like a sacrificial offering, without exception.”
घटोत्कच उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.