Shloka 21
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
प्रमीयते चास्य प्रजा हकाले सदा विवासं पितरो<सस््य कुर्वते । भीतं प्रपन्न॑ प्रददाति शत्रवे सेन्द्रा देवा: प्रहरन्त्यस्य वज्ञम्
pramīyate cāsya prajā hy akāle sadā vivāsaṃ pitaro 'sya kurvate | bhītaṃ prapannaṃ pradadāti śatrave sendrā devāḥ praharanti 'sya vajram ||
जो भयभीत शरणागताला शत्रूच्या हाती देतो, त्याची संतती अकाली मरते; त्याचे पितर सदैव नरकात वास करतात; आणि इंद्रासह देव त्याच्यावर वज्रप्रहार करतात.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protecting one who is frightened and has sought refuge is a binding duty; betraying such a suppliant to an enemy is adharma that brings ruin to one’s lineage, harms one’s ancestors, and incurs divine punishment.
Śalya is warning about the moral and cosmic consequences of delivering a surrendered, fearful person into an enemy’s hands, emphasizing that such treachery is condemned by both ancestral order and the gods.