Shloka 13
Plakṣaprasravaṇa–Kārapacana tīrtha-varṇana and Nārada’s war briefing (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 53)
मानवा ये निराहारा देहं त्यक्ष्यन्त्यतन्द्रिता: । युधि वा निहता: सम्यगपि तिर्यग्गता नूप
mānavā ye nirāhārā dehaṃ tyakṣyanty atandritāḥ | yudhi vā nihatāḥ samyag api tiryaggatā nūpa ||
O König, jene Menschen, die wachsam bleiben und den Leib im Fasten verlassen, oder die, wie es recht ist, in der Schlacht fallen—selbst wenn sie unter niedrigeren Arten wiedergeboren würden—deren Weg darf nicht verachtet werden.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links the manner of living and dying to moral consequence: vigilant austerity (fasting with discipline) and a proper death in battle are presented as ethically significant, influencing one’s post-mortem trajectory even if the next birth appears inferior.
Rāma addresses a king, reflecting on categories of death—death through disciplined fasting and death in combat—and comments on their karmic and ethical implications, including the possibility of rebirth among animals.