Shloka 46
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
भार्यभिहर्ता वैरी यो यश्व राज्यहरो रिपु: | याचमानोडपि संग्रामे न मोक्तव्य: कथंचन,“जो अपनी पत्नीका अपहरण करनेवाला तथा राज्यको हड़प लेनेवाला हो, ऐसे शत्रुको युद्धमें पाकर वह प्राणोंकी भीख माँगे तो भी किसी तरह जीवित नहीं छोड़ना चाहिये”
bhāryābhihartā vairī yo yaśva rājya-haro ripuḥ | yācamāno 'pi saṅgrāme na moktavyaḥ kathaṃcana ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana nói: “Kẻ thù đã bắt cóc vợ người ta, kẻ thù đã cướp đoạt vương quyền—gặp hạng người ấy nơi chiến địa, dẫu hắn van xin mạng sống cũng tuyệt đối không được tha.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a strict kṣatriya ethic: certain grave offenses—abducting a wife and usurping a kingdom—place an enemy beyond the mercy normally shown to a supplicant in battle; even if he begs, he is not to be spared.
Vaiśaṃpāyana, as narrator, states a rule of conduct for warfare: when confronting in combat an enemy guilty of wife-abduction or kingdom-usurpation, the warrior should not release him alive, even upon his plea for life.