Shloka 9
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
स सर्वयज्ञैरीजानो राजाथाभयदक्षिणै: । अनुभूयेह भद्राणि प्राप्रोतीन्द्रसलोकताम्
sa sarvayajñair ījāno rājāthābhayadakṣiṇaiḥ | anubhūyeha bhadrāṇi prāpnotīndrasalokātām ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—যে রাজা সকল যজ্ঞের দ্বারা ঈশ্বরের আরাধনা করে এবং জীবদের অভয়দানকেই যজ্ঞদক্ষিণা করে, সে ইহলোকে মঙ্গল ও সমৃদ্ধি ভোগ করে এবং পরলোকে ইন্দ্রলোক লাভ করে।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal and ethical excellence is measured not only by ritual worship (yajña) but by protection: giving ‘abhaya’—freedom from fear—to beings. Such dharmic governance yields welfare here and heavenly merit hereafter.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma explains to the listener that a king who performs sacrifices as worship and makes protection of beings his ‘dakṣiṇā’ enjoys prosperity in life and attains Indra’s heaven after death.