Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 546
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
मृतो दुःखं न जानीते प्रेत्य चानन्त्यम श्रुते । 'क्षत्रियधर्मके अनुसार युद्ध करनेवाले वीरोंके लिये संग्रामभूमिमें होनेवाली मृत्यु ही सुखद है; क्योंकि वहाँ मरा हुआ मनुष्य मृत्युके दुःखको नहीं जानता और मृत्युके पश्चात् अक्षय सुखका भागी होता है
mṛto duḥkhaṃ na jānīte pretya cānantyam aśnute |
Sañjaya said: “One who has died does not feel the pain of death; and when he has departed this world, he attains unending, imperishable bliss. Therefore, for a hero who fights in accordance with kṣatriya-dharma, death on the battlefield is deemed auspicious—even desirable—for it is bound to honor, duty fulfilled, and the promised reward after death.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a kṣatriya-ethical ideal: a warrior who dies in righteous battle is not burdened by the felt misery of death and is believed to attain an imperishable posthumous good; therefore, such death is framed as honorable and spiritually beneficial.
Sañjaya, narrating the events of the Kurukṣetra war, articulates a consolatory and motivational principle about battlefield death—presenting it as aligned with warrior duty and as leading to an enduring reward after death.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.