Shloka 14
कालनिर्णयः, युगधर्मवर्णनम्, सृष्टिक्रमश्च
Time-Reckoning, Yuga-Dharma, and the Sequence of Creation
हतं हन्ति हतो होव यो नरो हन्ति कठ्चन । उभौ तौ न विजानीतो यश्न हन्ति हतश्ष यः
hataṃ hanti hato hova yo naro hanti kaścana | ubhau tau na vijānīto yaś ca hanti hataś ca yaḥ ||
Śakra disse: “O homem que mata outro é, na verdade, ele mesmo já ‘morto’—apenas golpeia o que já está morto. Tanto o que mata quanto o que é morto não compreendem o ātman; pois o ātman não é nem o agente nem o objeto do ato de matar.”
श॒क्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that violence is rooted in ignorance of the ātman: the Self is not truly killed and is not the true doer of killing. Therefore, both the killer and the killed are described as lacking Self-knowledge, and the ethical thrust is to turn from harm toward insight and restraint.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Śakra (Indra) delivers a reflective teaching that reframes killing through the lens of the imperishable Self, emphasizing that ordinary notions of slayer and slain arise from misunderstanding.