Shloka 24
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
स कथं भ्रातरं ज्येष्ठं राजानं धर्मकोविदम् | हन्याद् भवान् नरश्रेष्ठ प्राकृतो5न्य: पुमानिव,नरश्रेष्ठ) तुम दूसरे गवाँर मनुष्यके समान अपने बड़े भाई धर्मज्ञ नरेशका वध कैसे करोगे?
sa kathaṁ bhrātaraṁ jyeṣṭhaṁ rājānaṁ dharmakovidam | hanyād bhavān naraśreṣṭha prākṛto 'nyaḥ pumān iva ||
“Hỡi bậc trượng phu ưu tú, sao ngươi có thể giết người anh cả của mình—một vị quân vương tinh thông dharma—như kẻ phàm phu thô lỗ khác?”
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in the extremity of war, noble conduct is measured by adherence to dharma—especially restraint toward one’s elder brother and a righteous king. Kṛṣṇa frames fratricide here as the act of an uncultured, ordinary person, not of a naraśreṣṭha.
Kṛṣṇa is admonishing and morally checking a warrior’s impulse to kill his elder brother, emphasizing the elder’s status as king and knower of dharma, and warning that such a killing would be disgraceful and adharmic.