Shloka 276
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
आत्मानं यूपमुत्सृज्य स यज्ञोडनन्तदक्षिण: । जब लुटेरे ब्राह्मणके धनका अपहरण करते हों
ātmānaṃ yūpam utsṛjya sa yajño 'nantadakṣiṇaḥ |
Ambarīṣa dit : Lorsque des brigands s’emparent des biens d’un brāhmaṇa, l’homme vaillant qui, dans le combat qu’il faut mener contre eux, s’emploie à abandonner même son corps chéri—offrant ce corps comme s’il était le poteau sacrificiel yūpa—ou celui qui sacrifie ce « yūpa qu’est le corps » et frappe sans hésiter, ce combat même doit être tenu pour un yajña doté de dakṣiṇā sans fin.
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous combat undertaken to protect a brāhmaṇa (and, by extension, the innocent and dharma) is elevated to the status of a sacrifice: offering one’s own body like a yūpa makes the act spiritually meritorious, ‘endowed with endless dakṣiṇās,’ rather than mere aggression.
Ambarīṣa explains that when robbers plunder a brāhmaṇa’s wealth, a heroic defender who enters battle ready to give up his life is effectively performing a yajña; the battlefield becomes the ritual arena and self-sacrifice becomes the offering.