Shloka 40
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
सास्य वेदिस्तदा यज्ञै्नित्यं वेदास्त्रयो5ग्नय: । जब अपनी सेना तथा शत्रुसेना एक-दूसरेके सामने व्यूह बनाकर उपस्थित होती है, उस समय दोनोंमेंसे जिसके सम्मुख केवल जनशून्य आकाश रह जाता है, वह निर्जन आकाश ही उस वीरके लिये युद्ध-यज्ञकी वेदी है। उस स्थानपर मानो सदा यज्ञ होता है तथा तीनों वेद और त्रिविध अग्नि सदा ही प्रतिष्ठित रहते हैं ।। यस्तु योध: परावृत्त: संत्रस्तो हन्यते परै:
sāsya vedis tadā yajnaiḥ nityaṃ vedās trayo 'gnayaḥ | yastu yodhaḥ parāvṛttaḥ saṃtrasto hanyate paraiḥ ||
Ambarīṣa said: “For that warrior, at that moment, the very battlefield-front becomes a sacrificial altar: where the two armies stand arrayed face to face, the open, unoccupied space directly before him is itself his yuddha-yajña’s vedi. There, as it were, sacrifice is ever being performed, and the three Vedas and the three sacred fires stand continually established. But the fighter who turns back in fear is struck down by the enemy.”
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames righteous battle (for a kṣatriya) as a solemn sacrifice: the warrior’s forward-facing space is his altar, and steadfastness is demanded. Retreat born of fear is condemned, implying that courage and duty sustain dharma, while panic and turning back lead to ruin.
Ambarīṣa describes the moment when armies stand in formation facing each other. He uses yajña imagery—altar, Vedas, and fires—to sacralize the warrior’s stance at the front, then contrasts it with the fate of a frightened fighter who turns back and is killed by the enemy.