204 



ON THE WEAPONS USED 



approaches with uplifted weapons and intent to murder. 

 The king knowing the law should certainly protect the law 

 which is being broken. By such an act he is no law-breaker ; 

 for fury recoils on fury." Our Sukraniti expresses this 

 decision (IV, VII, 259) as follows: "He who has raised a 

 weapon against an approaching assassin, even if this be a 

 Vaidika Brahman (Bhruna), and has killed him, should not be 

 considered as a murderer of a Vaidika Brahman ; if he has not 

 killed him, he should be regarded as such." 72 



As the sloka of the Sukraniti contains a more difficult 

 reading and the rare term Bhruna in the sense of Vaidiki- 

 brahman occurs here, which is, as it were, explained in the 

 Mahabharata by " Vedantaparaga," there seems to be no 

 doubt which of the two versions is the earlier. 73 



The 57th chapter of the Rajadharma begins with another 

 quotation of Usanas. He is said to have declared that " the 

 earth swallows these two, namely, a king who does not oppose 

 an enemy and a Brahman who does not travel about, like a 

 snake swallows the animals living in holes. " 



72 See Mahabharata, Rajadharma, LVI, 27-29. 

 27- Slokau causanasa gitau puratata maharsirja 



tan nibodha maharaja tvam ekagramana nrpa. 



28. TJdyamya sastram ayantam api vedantaparagam 

 nigrhniyat svadharmena dharmapeksi naradhipah. 



29. Vinasyamanam dharmam hi yo'bhirakset sa dharrnavit 

 na tena dharmaha sa syat manyustanmanyum rcchati. 



Compare this with Sukraniti, IV, VII, v. 259. 



Udyamya sastram ayantam bhrunam apyatatayinam 

 nihatya bhrunaha na syat ahatva bhrunaha bhavet. 



Compare further with these slokas, Manu, VIII, 350, 351, 



73 That Bhrunaha means a Vaidika-Brahman murderer is clear from 

 Kullukabhatta's Commentary to Manu, VIII, 317 (annade bhrunaha marsti 

 patyau bharyapaearinl), for he says there: " Brahmaha yah tatsambancUii- 

 yo'nnam atti tasmin asau svapapam sankramayati. Bhrunahannablioktub 

 papam bhavatiti. Etad atra vivaksitam na tu brahmaghnah papam nasyati 

 tatha bharya vyabhicarini jarapatim ksamamane bhartari papam samslesa- 

 yati." 



Compare also Ndndrtharatnamdld'by Irugapadandadhinatha, II, 125, under 

 the word bhruna: " Bhrunorbhake strainagarbhe garbhinyam srotriye 

 dvije." 



