Shloka 55
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
आततायी हि यो हन्यादाततायिनमागतम् । न तेन भ्रूणहा स स्यान्मन्युस्तं मन्युमारछति
arjuna uvāca | ātatāyī hi yo hanyād ātatāyinam āgatam | na tena bhrūṇahā sa syān manyus taṃ manyum ṛcchati ||
जो हातात शस्त्र घेऊन मारायला आला आहे, त्या आततायीला जो प्रतिकारार्थ मारून टाकतो, तो भ्रूणहत्येच्या पापाचा भागी होत नाही; कारण मारण्यासाठी आलेल्या त्या मनुष्याचा क्रोधच वध करणाऱ्याच्या मनातही त्या क्षणी क्रोध उत्पन्न करतो।
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Killing an armed aggressor who comes to murder is treated as a dharmic act of defense, not as a grievous sin like bhrūṇa-hatyā; moral culpability is mitigated because the attacker’s violent intent and wrath drive the confrontation.
Arjuna argues a point of dharma: when a person is confronted by an ātatāyin (a deadly assailant), slaying that aggressor in response does not make the defender a ‘bhrūṇahā’; he frames it as a compelled defensive act arising from the attacker’s aggression.