Shloka 1
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! जो शूरवीर शत्रुके साथ डटकर युद्ध करते हैं और कभी पीठ नहीं दिखाते, वे समरांगणमें मृत्युको प्राप्त होकर किन लोकोंमें जाते हैं, यह मुझे बताइये
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—Pitāmaha! ye śūrāḥ śatrubhiḥ saha dṛḍhaṁ yuddhaṁ kurvanti, kadācit pṛṣṭhaṁ na darśayanti, te samara-aṅgaṇe mṛtyuṁ prāpya keṣu lokeṣu gacchanti? etad me brūhi.
Yudhiṣṭhira demanda : «Grand-père, dis-le-moi : ces guerriers héroïques qui tiennent ferme et combattent l’ennemi face à face, sans jamais lui tourner le dos, lorsqu’ils meurent sur le champ de bataille, vers quels mondes vont-ils ?»
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry into the moral and spiritual consequence of steadfast courage in righteous combat: whether dying without retreat, facing the enemy, leads to specific higher realms. It sets up Bhīṣma’s instruction on kṣatriya-duty and the fruits of battlefield death.
During Bhīṣma’s teachings in the Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks his grandsire to explain the posthumous destination (lokas) of warriors who fight bravely and do not flee, if they die on the battlefield.