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 king, those men who, remaining vigilant, abandon the body while fasting, or who are rightly slain in battle—even if they should later be reborn among lower species—their course is not to be despised.
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.