Shloka 8
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
तत्र वै योत्स्यमाना ये देहं त्यक्ष्यन्ति मानवा: । तेषां स्वर्गे ध्रुवी वास: शक्रेण सह मारिष
tatra vai yotsyamānā ye dehaṃ tyakṣyanti mānavāḥ | teṣāṃ svarge dhruvī vāsaḥ śakreṇa saha māriṣa ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O Ehrwürdiger, jene Männer, die dort kämpfend ihren Leib hingeben, werden gewiss eine feste Wohnstatt im Himmel erlangen und in der Gemeinschaft Śakras (Indras) weilen.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a traditional kṣatriya ethic: one who dies while fighting in a righteous battle is believed to gain assured heavenly reward—here described as a firm residence in Svarga with Indra—thereby framing battlefield death as meaningful and meritorious rather than merely tragic.
Sanjaya, narrating events to the king, declares that the warriors who will fight at that place and fall in combat will attain heaven and dwell with Śakra (Indra), encouraging a view of impending deaths as leading to a promised celestial outcome.