Motif
inviolability of the envoy
inviolability_of_the_envoy
A motif of the Sacred Law and Social Order family. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
2 occurrences
1 traditions
hindu
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The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3: Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 SECTION LXXXII / SECTION LXXXIII / SECTION LXXXIV / SECTION LXXXV; lines 32629-32709 confidence: high
A person should not be punished for another's fault; conviction or acquittal should follow reflection on the code. A king must never slay an envoy, and doing so leads to hell and ancestral pollution by grave sin.
The king is told never to slay an envoy under any circumstances, and severe afterlife and ancestral consequences are attached to doing so.
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The Ramayan of Valmiki Canto XLIII. The Ruin Of The Temple. / Canto XLV. The Seven Defeated. / Canto XLVI. The Captains. / Canto XLVII. The Death Of Aksha.; lines 47615-47734 confidence: high
Vibhishana urges Ravana to revoke the death decree, saying wise and noble kings do not condemn envoys, that killing one breaks ancient law, and that Ravana should spare Hanuman while still chastising him.
Vibhishana states that wise kings do not put envoys to death and quotes the rule that an enemy’s envoy should be spared, allowing only nonlethal punishment.
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