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 ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Der König, der den Herrn durch die Vollziehung aller Opfer verehrt und den Lebewesen die Gabe der Furchtlosigkeit als Opfergabe (dakṣiṇā) gewährt, genießt in dieser Welt Glück und Gedeihen; und nach dem Tod erlangt er die Himmelswelt Indras.
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.