Shloka 17
बृहदश्च उवाच नारदस्य वच: श्रुत्वा पप्रच्छ बलवृत्रहा । धर्मज्ञा: पृथिवीपालास्त्यक्तजीवितयोधिन:,बृहदश्व कहते हैं--राजन्! नारदकी बात सुनकर बल और वृत्रासुरका वध करनेवाले इन्द्रने उनसे पूछा--“मुने! जो धर्मज्ञ भूपाल अपने प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर युद्ध करते हैं और पीठ न दिखाकर लड़ते समय किसी श'स्त्रके आघातसे मृत्युको प्राप्त होते हैं, उनके लिये हमारा यह स्वर्गलोक अक्षय हो जाता है और मेरी ही तरह उन्हें भी यह मनोवांछित भोग प्रदान करता है
bṛhadaśva uvāca nāradasya vacaḥ śrutvā papraccha balavṛtrahā | dharmajñāḥ pṛthivīpālās tyaktajīvitayodhinaḥ |
Bṛhadaśva said: Having heard Nārada’s words, Indra—the slayer of Vṛtra, mighty in strength—questioned him. He spoke of those righteous kings who, casting off attachment to life, fight on without turning their backs and meet death from a weapon’s blow in battle: for such warriors, heaven becomes an unfailing reward, granting them the longed-for enjoyments befitting their steadfast dharma.
बृहदश्च उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a kṣatriya ethical ideal: rulers who understand dharma and fight without cowardice—free from clinging to life—are portrayed as worthy of an enduring heavenly reward. Courage and duty, not mere violence, are emphasized as the moral basis for the afterlife fruit.
Bṛhadaśva narrates that Indra, after hearing Nārada’s statement, asks him a question concerning the fate of dharma-knowing kings who die in battle without turning their backs—setting up a discussion on the spiritual consequence of heroic death.