Shloka 553
मृतो दुःखं न जानीते प्रेत्य चानन्त्यम श्रुते । 'क्षत्रियधर्मके अनुसार युद्ध करनेवाले वीरोंकी संग्राममें सुखपूर्वक मृत्यु होती है। वहाँ मरे हुएको मृत्युके दुःखका अनुभव नहीं होता और परलोकमें जानेपर उसे अक्षय सुखकी प्राप्ति होती है
mṛto duḥkhaṃ na jānīte pretya cānantyam aśnute | kṣatriyadharmake'nusāraṃ yuddhaṃ kurvato vīrasya saṅgrāme sukhapūrvakā mṛtyur bhavati | tatra mṛtasya mṛtyu-duḥkhasyānubhavo na bhavati, paralokaṃ gatvā cākṣaya-sukhaṃ prāpnoti |
Sañjaya berkata: Orang yang telah gugur tidak mengetahui derita kematian; dan setelah menyeberang ke alam sana, ia meraih kebahagiaan tanpa akhir. Bagi kesatria yang bertempur menurut dharma kṣatriya, gugur di medan laga dipandang sebagai akhir yang mulia: ia tidak merasakan pedihnya mati, dan di alam berikutnya memperoleh sukacita yang tak binasa.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield death, when undertaken in accordance with kṣatriya-dharma, as ethically meaningful and spiritually fruitful: the dead do not experience the suffering of death, and the warrior gains an imperishable good in the afterlife. It reinforces the Mahābhārata’s recurrent linkage between svadharma (one’s rightful duty) and posthumous merit.
Sañjaya, narrating the war to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, offers a consolatory and exhortative reflection on the fate of warriors. In the midst of the Karṇa Parva’s intense fighting, he emphasizes that a hero who fights according to kṣatriya duty meets a ‘fortunate’ death and attains lasting reward beyond this life.