Shloka 37

Devanagari script

युध्यस्व निरहड़्कारो बलवीर्यव्यपाश्रय: । धम्यद्धि युद्धाच्छेयो 5न्यत्‌ क्षत्रियस्य न विद्यते,तुम अभिमानशून्य होकर बल और पराक्रमका सहारा ले युद्ध करो, क्षत्रियके लिये धर्मानुकूल युद्धसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई कल्याणकारी साधन नहीं है

Transliteration

yudhyasva nirahaṅkāro balavīryavyapāśrayaḥ | dharmyād dhi yuddhāc chreyo 'nyat kṣatriyasya na vidyate ||

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Kämpfe ohne Ego, gestützt auf deine Kraft und Tapferkeit. Für einen Kṣatriya gibt es kein höheres Gut als einen gerechten Krieg, der im Einklang mit dem Dharma geführt wird.“

Word by Word

युध्यस्वfight (you)

निरहङ्कारःfree from ego/pride

बलवीर्यव्यपाश्रयःhaving strength and valor as support

धर्म्याद्धिthan righteous (i.e., from what is righteous); indeed

युद्धात्than battle/war

श्रेयःbetter good, higher welfare

अन्यत्another (thing)

क्षत्रियस्यof a kshatriya/warrior

नnot

विद्यतेexists/is found

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

kṣatriya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma teaches that a warrior should act without ego and perform his ordained duty; for a kṣatriya, engaging in a dharma-aligned battle is presented as the highest welfare (śreyas), because it is action governed by righteous obligation rather than personal pride.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma Parva, Bhīṣma addresses a warrior on the battlefield, urging him to fight with humility (without ahaṅkāra) and to rely on trained strength and valor, framing the coming combat as a duty-bound, righteous engagement rather than a private quarrel.