Shloka 54
Daṇḍa as the Foundation of Social Order (दण्डप्रतिष्ठा)
मा च ते निघ्नतः शत्रून मन्युर्भवतु पार्थिव । न तत्र किल्बिषं किंचित् कर्तुर्भवीति भारत
mā ca te nighnataḥ śatrūn manyur bhavatu pārthiva | na tatra kilbiṣaṃ kiñcit kartur bhavīti bhārata || rājan! śatrūṇāṃ vadhaṃ kurvataḥ samaye tava manasi dīnatā nāgantavyā | bhārata! śatrūṇāṃ vadhaṃ kṛtvā kartari kaścid api pāpa-doṣo na lipyate ||
Arjuna said: “O king, when you strike down your enemies, let no dejection or self-reproach arise in you. In such an act there is, indeed, no stain of wrongdoing for the doer. O Bharata, in the slaying of enemies undertaken as one’s rightful duty, no sin attaches to the agent.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arjuna frames enemy-slaying, when performed as rightful royal/warrior duty, as ethically non-culpable: the agent should not fall into dejection or self-condemnation, and no moral stain (kilbiṣa) is said to attach in that context.
Arjuna addresses a king (pārthiva, rājan), urging him to act decisively against enemies without inner collapse or remorse, asserting that such action—under the rubric of duty—does not incur sin for the doer.