Shloka 11
अनस्त्रविदयं सर्वो हन्तव्यो<स्त्रविदा जन: । यद् भवान् मन्यते चापि शुभं वा यदि वाशुभम्
anastravidaṁ sarvo hantavyo ’stravidā janaḥ | yad bhavān manyate cāpi śubhaṁ vā yadi vāśubham ||
अनस्त्रविद्यं सर्वो हन्तव्योऽस्त्रविदा जनः । यद् भवान् मन्यते चापि शुभं वा यदि वाशुभम् ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a harsh wartime ethic: superiority in martial skill is treated as a warrant for killing the untrained, and the decision is deferred to the addressee’s judgment of what is ‘auspicious’ or ‘inauspicious.’ It highlights how dharma-language can be invoked to justify violence, exposing moral tension rather than offering a simple ideal.
Sañjaya reports a statement made in the midst of the Drona Parva’s battlefield deliberations. The speaker (as relayed by Sañjaya) urges that those lacking weapon-skill be killed by trained warriors, and then leaves the final choice to the addressed authority, indicating counsel given under the pressures of war.