Shloka 31

Devanagari script

जो लोग ब्राह्मणोंसे द्वेष करनेवाले दुराचारियोंको दबानेके लिये युद्धकी ज्वालामें अपने शरीरकी आहुति दे डालते हैं, उन वीरोंको नमस्कार है, उनका कल्याण हो। हम लोगोंको उन्हींके समान लोक प्राप्त हो। मनुजीने कहा है कि *वे स्वर्गीय शूरवीर ब्रह्मलोकपर विजय पा जाते है' ।। यथाश्वमेधावभृथे स्नाता: पूता भवन्त्युत । दुष्कृतस्य प्रणाशेन तत: शस्त्रहता रणे,जैसे अश्वमेध यज्ञके अन्तमें अवभूथस्नान करनेवाले मनुष्य पापरहित एवं पवित्र हो जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार युद्धमें शस्त्रोंद्वारा मारे गये वीर अपने पाप नष्ट हो जानेके कारण पवित्र हो जाते हैं

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca | ye janā brāhmaṇebhyo dveṣa-kāriṇaḥ durācārān nigrahītuṃ yuddha-jvālāyāṃ sva-śarīram āhutiṃ dadati, tebhyo vīrebhyo namo 'stu, teṣāṃ kalyāṇaṃ bhavatu | asmākam api teṣām iva lokaḥ prāpyatām | manuḥ āha—te svargīyāḥ śūrā brahmalokaṃ jayanti iti | yathāśvamedhāvabhṛthe snātāḥ pūtā bhavanti uta, tathā śastra-hatā raṇe duṣkṛtasya praṇāśena pūtā bhavanti |

Translation

Bhishma said: Salutations to those heroes who, to restrain wicked men of corrupt conduct who bear hatred toward Brahmins, offer their own bodies as an oblation in the blaze of battle; may welfare be theirs. May we too attain the same world as they. Manu has declared that such heavenly warriors win victory over Brahmaloka. Just as those who bathe at the concluding ablution of the Aśvamedha become purified and free from sin, so too the heroes slain by weapons in battle become pure, for their evil deeds are destroyed.

Word by Word

यथाjust as

अश्वमेधof the Aśvamedha (sacrifice)

अवभृथेat the concluding bath (avabhṛtha)

स्नाताःhaving bathed

पूताःpurified

भवन्तिbecome

उतindeed/also

दुष्कृतस्यof sin/evil deed

प्रणाशेनby destruction

ततःthereupon/therefore

शस्त्रहताःslain by weapons

रणेin battle

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Brahmins (Brāhmaṇas)

Manu

Brahmaloka

Aśvamedha (horse-sacrifice)

Avabhṛtha-snāna (concluding bath)

Battle/war (raṇa, yuddha)

Weapons (śastra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhishma praises self-sacrificing warriors who fight to restrain anti-Brahmin, immoral aggressors, teaching that such dharmic combat—undertaken for protection and restraint rather than hatred—brings purification and a high posthumous realm, likened to the cleansing power of the Aśvamedha’s concluding bath.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma cites Manu and uses a Vedic ritual analogy to explain that heroes slain in righteous battle against oppressive wrongdoers attain purity and an exalted destination (Brahmaloka), offering salutations and expressing a wish to share their fate.