Shloka 5
अर्जुनस्य युधिष्ठिरं प्रति क्षात्रधर्मोपदेशः | Arjuna’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira on Kṣatra-Dharma
क्षात्रधर्मो महारौद्र: शस्त्रनित्य इति स्मृतः । वधश्च भरतश्रेष्ठ काले शस्त्रेण संयुगे
kṣātradharmo mahāraudraḥ śastranitya iti smṛtaḥ | vadhaś ca bharataśreṣṭha kāle śastreṇa saṃyuge ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— भरतश्रेष्ठ! क्षत्रिय-धर्म अत्यन्त उग्र है; वह सदा शस्त्रों से ही बँधा रहता है। और समय आने पर युद्ध के संघर्ष में शस्त्रों से ही वध भी होता है; अतः जो इस शस्त्र-धर्म से जीते हैं, उनके लिए शोक का कोई उचित आधार नहीं।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames kṣatriya-dharma as inherently tied to armed conflict: a warrior’s life involves weapons, and death by weapons in battle is a foreseeable, time-bound outcome. Hence, excessive grief over such deaths is presented as misplaced when viewed through the lens of that duty.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a Bharata prince/descendant, explaining the harsh nature of the warrior code. He emphasizes that battle and weapon-death are integral to the kṣatriya’s ordained role, offering a rationale meant to steady the listener’s mind against lamentation.