Shloka 20
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
मा स्म तांस्तादृशांस्तात जनिष्ठा: पुरुषाधमान् । ये सहायान् रणे हित्वा स्वस्तिमन्तो गृहान् ययु:
mā sma tāṁs tādṛśāṁs tāta janiṣṭhāḥ puruṣādhamān | ye sahāyān raṇe hitvā svastimanto gṛhān yayuḥ ||
Bhīṣma berkata: “Wahai anakku, janganlah engkau sekali-kali memperanakkan lelaki sehina itu—mereka yang meninggalkan sahabat seperjuangan di medan perang lalu pulang ke rumah dengan selamat. Perbuatan demikian adalah bertentangan sama sekali dengan dharma seorang pahlawan dan kesetiaan kepada rakan seperjuangan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma condemns the betrayal of comrades in war: abandoning allies to save oneself is adharma and marks one as ‘puruṣādhama’ (the lowest of men). The ethical ideal upheld is steadfast loyalty and shared risk in righteous duty.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the listener (addressed as ‘tāta’) on conduct and duty. Here he issues a sharp moral warning against producing or approving men who desert their companions in battle and then return home unharmed.