Shloka 283
वार्यमाणेन हि हतस्तत: पापतरं नु किम् | भूरिश्रवाकी बाँह काट डाली गयी थी। वे आमरण उपवासका नियम लेकर चुपचाप बैठे हुए थे। उस दशामें सबके मना करनेपर भी जो तूने उनका वध किया, इससे बढ़कर महान् पापकर्म और क्या हो सकता है?
vāryamāṇena hi hatas tataḥ pāpataraṃ nu kim |
Dhṛṣṭadyumna said: “He was slain even while others were trying to restrain (the act). What deed could be more sinful than that?” In context, he condemns the killing of Bhūriśravas—already disarmed and observing a vow of fasting unto death—as an ethically grievous violation of righteous conduct in war.
धृष्टह्युम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a key Mahābhārata ethical concern: even in war, killing a disarmed or vow-observing opponent—especially when others are actively restraining the act—is portrayed as an extreme form of pāpa (sin), violating accepted norms of righteous combat.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna denounces the slaying of Bhūriśravas. The surrounding narrative (as reflected in the Gītā Press Hindi note) frames Bhūriśravas as having lost his arm and taken a silent vow of fasting unto death; despite objections and attempts to stop it, he was killed, prompting this moral rebuke.