Shloka 31
राजधर्मप्रश्नः — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry into Rājadharma (Śānti-parva 56)
एवं चैव नरश्रेष्ठ रक्ष्या एव द्विजातय: । सापराधानपि हि तान् विषयान्ते समुत्सूजेत्
evaṃ caiva naraśreṣṭha rakṣyā eva dvijātayaḥ | sāparādhān api hi tān viṣayānte samutsṛjet |
毗湿摩说道：“即便如此，人中至杰啊，二次生者（dvija）仍当恒常护佑。纵使他们犯下过失，也不应施以死刑；当将其逐出国境之外，任其离去。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king’s punishment must be restrained by dharma: even when the twice-born commit offenses, they are not to be executed; the appropriate penalty is expulsion beyond the kingdom’s borders, maintaining protection while still upholding order.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma advises the ruler on how to deal with offenders among the twice-born, prescribing exile at the frontier rather than capital punishment.