Shloka 51
अम्बा–राम–भीष्म संवादः
Amba–Rama–Bhishma Dialogue on Vow and Refuge
उद्यतेषुमथो दृष्ट्वा ब्राह्म॒णं क्षत्रबन्धुवत् । यो हन्यात् समरे क्रुद्धं युध्यन्तमपलायिनम्
udyateṣu matho dṛṣṭvā brāhmaṇaṁ kṣatrabandhuvat | yo hanyāt samare kruddhaṁ yudhyantam apalāyinam ||
たとえブラーフマナであっても、クシャトリヤのごとく武器を取り——戦場で憤り、正面から戦い、背を見せて逃げぬなら——その者を戦いのうちに討ち取っても、ブラフマハティヤー（婆羅門殺し）の罪は負わぬ。これはダルマ・シャーストラの確定した裁断である。苦行の富める者よ、私はクシャトリヤ、クシャトリヤの法に立つ。
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-legal principle: if a brāhmaṇa abandons the protected noncombatant role and fights as an armed combatant without retreat, then killing him in fair battle is treated as a wartime act under kṣatriya-dharma, not as brahmahatyā. It emphasizes role-based dharma and contextual judgment in warfare.
Rāma is justifying a kṣatriya’s conduct in battle by citing dharmaśāstra: when a brāhmaṇa takes up arms and fights like a warrior, he is to be regarded as a combatant; therefore a warrior who kills him in that state is not blamed with the gravest sin. Rāma then asserts his own identity and obligation as a kṣatriya.