Shloka 9

Adharmic Victory as Unstable; Rules of Restraint, Mediation, and Conciliation (अधर्मविजय-अध्रुवत्व तथा क्षमा-नयः)

Devanagari script

मर्यादां शाश्वतीं भिन्द्याद्‌ ब्राह्णं योडभिलड्घयेत्‌ । अथ चेल्लड्घयेदेव मर्यादां क्षत्रियत्रुव:

Transliteration

maryādāṁ śāśvatīṁ bhindyād brāhmaṇaṁ yo 'bhilaṅghayet | atha cel laṅghayed eva maryādāṁ kṣatriya-dhruvaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Kẻ nào vượt qua, chà đạp một Brāhmaṇa là phá vỡ ranh giới vĩnh cửu của trật tự chính đạo. Và nếu ranh giới ấy quả thật bị xâm phạm, thì người Kṣatriya—kiên định trong bổn phận—phải hành động để khôi phục và gìn giữ giới hạn ấy.”

Word by Word

मर्यादाम्boundary, limit, rule

शाश्वतीम्eternal, perpetual

भिन्द्यात्should break/violate

ब्राह्मणम्a Brahmin

यःwho

अभिलङ्घयेत्should transgress, overstep

अथthen, moreover

चेत्if

लङ्घयेत्should transgress

एवindeed, just

मर्यादाम्boundary, limit, rule

क्षत्रियध्रुवःa steadfast/true Kshatriya

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Brāhmaṇa

Kṣatriya

maryādā (ethical boundary/order)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that violating the rightful limits (maryādā) by disrespecting or oppressing a Brāhmaṇa is a grave breach of enduring moral order, and that the Kṣatriya’s steadfast duty is to uphold and restore that order when it is crossed.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma is instructing Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he emphasizes the maintenance of social-ethical boundaries and the king/warrior’s responsibility to protect the established order when it is threatened by transgression.