Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 546
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
मृतो दुःखं न जानीते प्रेत्य चानन्त्यम श्रुते । 'क्षत्रियधर्मके अनुसार युद्ध करनेवाले वीरोंके लिये संग्रामभूमिमें होनेवाली मृत्यु ही सुखद है; क्योंकि वहाँ मरा हुआ मनुष्य मृत्युके दुःखको नहीं जानता और मृत्युके पश्चात् अक्षय सुखका भागी होता है
mṛto duḥkhaṃ na jānīte pretya cānantyam aśnute |
Sañjaya said: “One who has died does not experience the pain of death; and having departed from this world, he attains unending (imperishable) bliss. Thus, for a hero who fights in accordance with kṣatriya-dharma, death on the battlefield is held to be auspicious and even desirable, because it is linked with honor, duty fulfilled, and a promised posthumous reward.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a kṣatriya-ethical ideal: a warrior who dies in righteous battle is not burdened by the felt misery of death and is believed to attain an imperishable posthumous good; therefore, such death is framed as honorable and spiritually beneficial.
Sañjaya, narrating the events of the Kurukṣetra war, articulates a consolatory and motivational principle about battlefield death—presenting it as aligned with warrior duty and as leading to an enduring reward after death.