Shloka 38
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
हविर्धानं स्ववाहिन्यास्तदस्याहुर्मनीषिण: । जो वीर शत्रुसेना के मुहानेको पत्नीशाला बना लेता है, मनीषी पुरुष उसके लिये अपनी सेनाके प्रमुख भागको युद्ध-यज्ञके हवनीय पदार्थोंके रखनेका पात्र बताते हैं ।।
havirdhānaṃ svavāhinyās tad asyāhur manīṣiṇaḥ | yo vīraḥ śatrusenāyā mukhānaṃ patnīśālāṃ banālayati, manīṣiṇaḥ puruṣāḥ tasmai svasenāyāḥ pradhānabhāgaṃ yuddhayajñasya havanīyadravyāṇāṃ nidhānapātraṃ vadanti || sadasyā dakṣiṇā yodhā āgnīdhraś cottarāṃ diśam ||
Ambarīṣa dit : «Les sages déclarent que, dans ce “sacrifice de guerre”, le réceptacle le plus éminent de l’oblation est sa propre armée, bien menée. Le héros qui fait de la “bouche” même de l’armée ennemie un “pavillon d’épouses” — c’est-à-dire qui brise et humilie l’adversaire à l’avant —, un tel homme, disent les clairvoyants, devient pour son camp le vase principal où l’on dépose les offrandes de la victoire. Les combattants sont la dakṣiṇā (la rétribution sacrificielle) ; les officiants sont les membres du rite ; et le prêtre Āgnīdhra est posté au quartier du nord.»
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames warfare through the ethical and symbolic language of yajña: disciplined collective effort (one’s own army) is treated as the chief ‘receptacle’ of success, and decisive courage that breaks the enemy’s front is praised as the principal means by which the ‘offerings’ of victory are secured—while reminding that war has costs, likened to dakṣiṇā (the fee paid in a sacrifice).
Ambarīṣa continues a discourse that maps elements of a Vedic sacrifice onto the battlefield: the army becomes ritual apparatus, warriors become the sacrificial ‘fee,’ and roles like the Āgnīdhra are assigned directions—using this metaphor to explain how leadership and valor function within the larger order of dharma and statecraft.