Shloka 19
Dasyu-maryādā and Buddhi-guided Rāja-nīti (दस्युमर्यादा तथा बुद्धिप्रधान-राजनीति)
सहसंजातवृद्धस्य तथैव सहभोजिन: । शरणागतस्य च वधस्त्रिविधं होव पातकम्
saha-saṃjāta-vṛddhasya tathaiva saha-bhojinaḥ | śaraṇāgatasya ca vadhas trividhaṃ hova pātakam ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Membunuh seseorang yang lahir dan dibesarkan bersama-sama denganmu, yang berkongsi makanan dan persahabatan, dan yang datang kepadamu untuk berlindung—pembunuhan demikian diisytiharkan sebagai dosa tiga kali ganda. Dari segi dharma, ia melanggar ikatan asuhan bersama, ikatan rezeki yang dikongsi, dan kewajipan suci melindungi orang yang memohon perlindungan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that killing a person bound to you by intimate social and moral ties—shared birth/upbringing, shared food, and especially refuge—constitutes a compounded (threefold) moral transgression, because it breaks multiple layers of dharma: loyalty, hospitality, and the duty to protect the surrendered.
In the Shanti Parva’s dharma-instruction, Bhishma is laying down ethical rules for conduct. Here he specifies a grave prohibition: the slaying of a close associate and a refuge-seeker is not a single fault but a triple pātaka, emphasizing the heightened culpability when trust and protection are violated.