Shloka 48
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
Devanagari script
वृद्धबालौ न हन्तव्यौ न च स्त्री नैव पृछत:
Transliteration
vṛddhabālau na hantavyau na ca strī naiva pṛcchataḥ
Translation
بوڑھوں اور بچوں کو قتل نہیں کرنا چاہیے؛ عورت کو بھی ہرگز نقصان نہیں پہنچانا چاہیے—ایسے لوگ تشدد کا ہدف نہیں ہیں۔
Word by Word
वृद्धबालौthe old and the child (two persons)
वृद्धबालौ:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootवृद्ध + बाल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
हन्तव्यौto be killed / should be killed
हन्तव्यौ:
TypeVerb
Rootहन्
Formतव्यत् (gerundive/future passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Dual
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
स्त्रीa woman
स्त्री:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootस्त्री
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
एवindeed / just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
पृच्छतः(they) ask / inquire
पृच्छतः:
TypeVerb
Rootप्रच्छ्
FormLat (present), Parasmaipada, Third, Dual
Speaker
अम्बरीष उवाच
Characters & Entities
A
AmbarīṣaT
the aged (vṛddha)C
children/the young (bāla)W
women (strī)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Dharma places firm limits on violence: the elderly, children, and women are to be protected and not treated as legitimate objects of killing or harm.
Ambarīṣa is articulating a normative rule of righteous behavior—guidance for kings and warriors—by specifying protected categories who must not be slain, thereby defining ethical boundaries for the use of force.