Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 323
धनंजयेन निहतो नैष देवि शिखण्डिना । “देवि! इन्होंने समरांगणमें क्षत्रियधर्मके अनुसार युद्ध किया था। ये अर्जुनके हाथसे मारे गये हैं, शिखण्डीके हाथसे नहीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhanañjayena nihato naiṣa devi śikhaṇḍinā |
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “O Reyna, ang taong ito ay napatay ni Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), hindi ni Śikhaṇḍin. Sa larangan ng digmaan, lumaban siya ayon sa dharma ng kṣatriya; kaya ang kanyang pagkamatay ay dapat maunawaang naganap sa kamay ni Arjuna, hindi bilang pinaslang ni Śikhaṇḍin.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes accountability and ethical framing in war: a warrior’s death should be attributed to the true agent of the act, and the evaluation of that death is tied to whether the combat followed kṣatriya-dharma (the accepted code of battle).
The narrator clarifies to the addressed queen that the fallen warrior was actually killed by Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), not by Śikhaṇḍin, underscoring that the combat was conducted according to the warrior code and correcting any misconception about who delivered the fatal blow.