Shloka 21
Adhyāya 12: Devas’ Petition to Nahūṣa; Bṛhaspati on Śaraṇāgata-Dharma; Indrāṇī’s Strategic Delay
प्रमीयते चास्य प्रजा हकाले सदा विवासं पितरो<सस््य कुर्वते । भीतं प्रपन्न॑ प्रददाति शत्रवे सेन्द्रा देवा: प्रहरन्त्यस्य वज्ञम्,“उसकी संतान अकालमें ही मर जाती है। उसके पितर सदा नरकमें निवास करते हैं। जो भयभीत शरणागतको शत्रुके हाथमें दे देता है, उसपर इन्द्र आदि देवता वज्रका प्रहार करते हैं!
pramīyate cāsya prajā hy akāle sadā vivāsaṃ pitaro 'sya kurvate | bhītaṃ prapannaṃ pradadāti śatrave sendrā devāḥ praharanti 'sya vajram ||
“其子嗣夭折；其祖灵（pitṛ）恒居地狱。凡将惊惧投奔者交付于仇敌之人，诸神以因陀罗为首，必以金刚雷霆（vajra）击之。”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Protecting one who is frightened and has sought refuge is a binding duty; betraying such a suppliant to an enemy is adharma that brings ruin to one’s lineage, harms one’s ancestors, and incurs divine punishment.
Śalya is warning about the moral and cosmic consequences of delivering a surrendered, fearful person into an enemy’s hands, emphasizing that such treachery is condemned by both ancestral order and the gods.