Shloka 27

Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मस्वे ह्वियमाणे तु त्यक्त्वा युद्धे प्रियां तनुम्‌ू

Transliteration

brahmasve hviyamāṇe tu tyaktvā yuddhe priyāṃ tanum

Translation

Ambarīṣa said: “When one is being summoned to the wealth and duty of Brahmanhood, one should abandon even the dear body on the battlefield.”

Word by Word

• ब्रह्मस्वे: in the Brahma-wealth (spiritual treasure/knowledge as one's own)
• ब्रह्मस्वे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ब्रह्मस्व (ब्रह्म + स्व)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• ह्वियमाणे: when being called/invoked
• ह्वियमाणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: ह्वि (√ह्वा/ह्वि, to call/invoke)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• त्यक्त्वा: having abandoned
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्यज् (√त्यज्, to abandon)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• युद्धे: in battle
• युद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्रियाम्: dear/beloved
• प्रियाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तनुम्: body
• तनुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनु
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

अम्बरीष उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ambarīṣa
• brahma-sva (sacred Brahmanical wealth/duty)
• battle (yuddha)
• body (tanu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches prioritizing higher dharma—here expressed as the call to Brahmanical sacred duty/treasure—over attachment to the body, even to the point of accepting death in battle when righteousness requires it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ambarīṣa is speaking in a didactic context in Śānti Parva, presenting an ethical maxim: when summoned by a superior spiritual obligation, one should be ready to relinquish bodily life, even amid warfare.