Shloka 44
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
जीवग्राहं प्रगृह्लाति तस्थ लोका यथा मम । जो शत्रुपक्षेके सेनापति, उसके पुत्र अथवा उस पक्षके किसी भी सम्मानित वीरको जीते-जी पकड़ लेता है, उसको मेरे-जैसे लोक प्राप्त होते हैं ।। ४३ $ ।। आहवे तु हतं शूरं न शोचेत कथंचन
jīvagrāhaṃ pragṛhṇāti tasya lokā yathā mama | āhave tu hataṃ śūraṃ na śocet kathaṃcana ||
Ambarīṣa dit : «Celui qui, au combat, saisit l’ennemi vivant—capturant le chef de l’armée adverse, son fils, ou quelque héros honoré—atteint des mondes semblables aux miens. Mais pour le vaillant tombé dans la mêlée, qu’on ne s’afflige en aucune manière.»
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links battlefield conduct with moral and spiritual consequence: capturing a worthy enemy alive is praised as a meritorious act, while excessive lamentation for a hero slain in rightful combat is discouraged, aligning with kṣatriya-dharma and the ideal of steadiness in the face of death.
Ambarīṣa is instructing about the ethical valuation of outcomes in war—commending the act of taking important opponents alive and advising that a warrior who dies in battle should not be mourned, since such death is treated as honourable within the dharma framework being taught in Śānti Parva.