Shloka 143
Śalya Appointed as Karṇa’s Sārathi; Discourse on Praise, Blame, and Beneficial Counsel (कर्णस्य शल्यसारथ्यं तथा स्तवनिन्दाविचारः)
अवध्यं ब्राह्मण मन्ये येन ते विक्रमो हतः । 'जैसे कोई शक्तिशाली पुरुष समुद्रसे नदीके वेगको पीछे लौटा दे
avadhyaṃ brāhmaṇa manye yena te vikramo hataḥ | yathā kaścid balavān puruṣaḥ samudrāt nadī-vegaṃ pratihanyāt, tathāham etad rathaṃ te kṣaṇād eva nivartya neṣyāmi | mama mate brāhmaṇā devatā avadhyāḥ, yaiḥ adya tava parākramaḥ pratihataḥ ||
अवध्यं ब्राह्मणं मन्ये येन ते विक्रमो हतः। अथ स सारथिः प्राह—“यथा कश्चित् शक्तिमान् पुरुषः समुद्रात् नदीवेगं प्रत्यावर्तयेत्, तथा अहं तव रथमेतत् क्षणादेव प्रत्यावर्त्य नयामि। मम मते ब्राह्मणाः देवतास्वरूपा अवध्याश्च; अद्य तैरेव तव पराक्रमः प्रतिहतः।”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a dharmic restraint within warfare: brāhmaṇas are regarded as sacrosanct and ‘avadhya’ (not to be slain). Even amid battle, ethical boundaries remain, and violating them is portrayed as spiritually and socially catastrophic.
Sañjaya comments that a brāhmaṇa’s intervention has checked the warrior’s momentum. Using a simile of reversing a river’s surge, he declares he will immediately turn the chariot back, emphasizing that brāhmaṇas are divine and not legitimate targets, and that this is why the hero’s advance has been obstructed.