Shloka 21
गोब्राह्मणनृपस्त्रीषु सख्युर्मातुर्गुरोस्तथा,'गौ, ब्राह्मण, राजा, स्त्री, मित्र, माता, गुरु, दुर्बल, जड, अन्धे, सोये हुए, डरे हुए, मतवाले, उन्मत्त और असावधान पुरुषोंपर मनुष्य शस्त्र न चलाये
sañjaya uvāca | gobrāhmaṇanṛpastrīṣu sakhyur mātur guros tathā | durbale jaḍa-andhe ca suptabhīte madotkaṭe | unmatte cāpramatte ca na śastraṃ pātayet pumān ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Hindi dapat manakit ng sandata ang tao sa mga baka, mga brāhmaṇa, mga hari, o mga babae; ni sa kaibigan, ina, o guro. Gayundin, huwag salakayin ang mahihina, ang mapurol ang isip, ang bulag, ang natutulog o natatakot, ang lasing, ang baliw, o ang pabaya. Ito ang pagpipigil ng dharma kahit sa gitna ng digmaan: itinatakda kung sino ang dapat pangalagaan at sino ang hindi dapat samantalahin sa oras ng kahinaan.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in wartime, dharma imposes strict limits: one must not use weapons against protected persons (cow, brāhmaṇa, king, woman, friend, mother, teacher) or against those incapacitated or vulnerable (weak, dull, blind, asleep, frightened, intoxicated, deranged, heedless). The verse frames restraint as a moral boundary that prevents victory from becoming mere cruelty.
Sañjaya reports a normative rule about whom a warrior should not attack. In the Sauptika context—where night-raid violence and the killing of sleepers becomes central—this statement highlights the ethical tension between dharma-yuddha ideals and the adharma-like acts that occur in the episode.