Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 323
धनंजयेन निहतो नैष देवि शिखण्डिना । “देवि! इन्होंने समरांगणमें क्षत्रियधर्मके अनुसार युद्ध किया था। ये अर्जुनके हाथसे मारे गये हैं, शिखण्डीके हाथसे नहीं
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
dhanañjayena nihato naiṣa devi śikhaṇḍinā |
毗舍波耶那说道：“王后啊，此人乃为檀那阇耶（阿周那）所杀，并非死于尸佉檀因之手。他在战场上依刹帝利之法而战；故当明白，他是倒在阿周那手下，而不是被尸佉檀因所杀。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage emphasizes accountability and ethical framing in war: a warrior’s death should be attributed to the true agent of the act, and the evaluation of that death is tied to whether the combat followed kṣatriya-dharma (the accepted code of battle).
The narrator clarifies to the addressed queen that the fallen warrior was actually killed by Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), not by Śikhaṇḍin, underscoring that the combat was conducted according to the warrior code and correcting any misconception about who delivered the fatal blow.