Ksattriya – Ksat trayate iti Ksattriya.
Ksat means harm and trayate means to get over, so Ksattriya means one who helps people get over harm.
The scene
The war at kurusketra has just got over. Ashvasthama does a unthinkable and heinous act. He kills the five baby sons of Draupadi when they are asleep. He thinks that Durtodhana will be happy but even Duryodhana is not happy with this act.
Here is the verse in this context here Sri Krishnna explains that it is heinous act.
What Krishna explains as a Ksattriya’s code of conduct.
http://vedabase.net/sb/1/7/36/en2
Canto 1: Creation
Chapter 7: The Son of Drona Punished
Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.36
mattam pramattam unmattam
suptam balam striyam jadam
prapannam viratham bhitam
na ripum hanti dharma-vit
SYNONYMS
mattam -- careless; pramattam -- intoxicated; unmattam -- insane; suptam -- asleep; balam -- boy; striyam -- woman; jadam -- foolish; prapannam -- surrendered; viratham -- one who has lost his chariot; bhitam -- afraid; na -- not; ripum -- enemy; hanti -- kill; dharma-vit -- one who knows the principles of religion.
TRANSLATION
A person who knows the principles of religion does not kill an enemy who is careless, intoxicated, insane, asleep, afraid or devoid of his chariot. Nor does he kill a boy, a woman, a foolish creature or a surrendered soul.
Kali Yuga
In modern war we do not see this kind of honour in fight. Thus we can see that we are living in Kali yuga.
In the past even Duryodhana, the personification of wrong doings, was not happy with this act as explained in the chapter seven of the first canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, but today we think nothing of innocent people being killed in wars and even have a name for this i.e collateral damage.
I have heard that even a few centuries ago if two armies were fighting and in the course of the fight, one army raises a white flag, they were not harmed and the war would end. However now a days it is routine to kill or torture the captured soldiers of the other army.
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