Shloka 27
सुप्तं वाथ प्रमत्तं वा यथा हन्याद् विषेण वा
suptaṁ vātha pramattaṁ vā yathā hanyād viṣeṇa vā
Sañjaya berkata: “Sebagaimana seseorang boleh menewaskan orang yang sedang tidur atau lalai—atau bahkan membinasakannya dengan racun—demikianlah cara membunuh seperti itu juga disebut,” yakni suatu perbuatan curang yang tercela, melanggar tata susila ksatria dalam pertempuran terbuka.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that killing someone who is asleep or inattentive—especially by covert means like poison—is ethically blameworthy in the Mahābhārata’s war-ethics framework, contrasting stealthy harm with righteous, face-to-face combat.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, uses a comparison: slaying an unguarded person (asleep or careless) or poisoning him exemplifies an underhanded method of killing, invoked to judge or characterize conduct in the unfolding battle context.