Shloka 12
Bala and Dharma in Kṣatriya Governance (बल-धर्म सम्बन्धः)
हतो वा दिवमारोहेद्धत्वा वा क्षितिमावसेत् । युद्धे हि संत्यजन् प्राणान् शक्रस्यैति सलोकताम्,यदि वह युद्धमें मारा जाय तो स्वर्गलोकके शिखरपर आरूढ़ हो सकता है अथवा यदि उसीने शत्रुको मार लिया तो वह पृथ्वीका राज्य भोग सकता है। जो युद्धमें प्राणोंका परित्याग करता है, वह इन्द्रलोकमें जाता है
hato vā divam ārohed dhatvā vā kṣitim āvaset | yuddhe hi saṃtyajan prāṇān śakrasya eti salokatām ||
Bhishma declares the warrior’s stark alternatives in battle: if he is slain, he ascends to heaven; if he slays the foe, he remains to enjoy sovereignty on earth. For one who relinquishes life in the very act of fighting, the promised fruit is fellowship in Indra’s world.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle-duty in terms of dharmic resolve and its fruits: a warrior who does not shrink from combat gains either earthly sovereignty if victorious or heavenly attainment—specifically Indra’s realm—if he dies while fighting.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on righteous conduct and social duties; here he articulates a traditional kṣatriya rationale for steadfastness in war, contrasting the outcomes of being slain versus slaying the enemy, and linking death in battle to reaching Śakra’s world.