Shloka 26
Vyavahāra-Śuddhi and Rājadharma: Clean Administration, Counsel, and Proportional Punishment
Chapter 86
नतु हन्यान्नूपो जातु दूतं कस्याज्चिदापदि । दूतस्य हन्ता निरयमाविशेत् सचिवै: सह,राजा कभी किसी आपकत्तिमें भी किसीके दूतकी हत्या न करे। दूतका वध करनेवाला नरेश अपने मन्त्रियोंसहित नरकमें गिरता है
na tu hanyān nṛpo jātu dūtaṁ kasyacid āpadi | dūtasya hantā nirayam āviśet sacivaiḥ saha ||
毗湿摩说道：纵在灾厄之时，国王亦不可杀害任何人的使者。君主若斩使者，罪业深重，并将与其群臣同堕地狱——因为使者为达摩所护，是传递言语与讯息之不可侵犯者。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A messenger is protected by dharma; even in crisis a king must not kill an envoy. Violating this rule brings severe moral and karmic consequence, implicating not only the ruler but also the advising ministers who enable the act.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on rājadharma, Bhīṣma lays down a rule of statecraft and wartime conduct: envoys are inviolable, and harming them is a grave transgression with dire afterlife consequences.