Shloka 15
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
युद्धमें बाणोंसे पीड़ित हुआ क्षत्रिय जो-जो दुःख सहता है, उस-उस कष्टके द्वारा उसके तपकी ही उत्तरोत्तर वृद्धि होती है; ऐसी धर्मज्ञ पुरुषोंकी मान्यता है ।।
yuddhe bāṇaiḥ pīḍito yaḥ kṣatriyo yaḥ-yaḥ duḥkhaṃ sahate, tasya tasya kaṣṭena tapasas tasya uttarottaraṃ vṛddhir bhavati—iti dharmajñāḥ manyante. pṛṣṭhato bhīravaḥ saṅkhye vartante ’dharma-pūruṣāḥ; śūrāc charaṇam icchantaḥ parjanyād iva jīvanam.
Bhishma berkata: “Seorang kshatriya yang terluka oleh anak panah di medan perang, apa pun derita yang ia tanggung—setiap kesukaran itu menambah laku tapanya setahap demi setahap; demikian keyakinan para pengenal dharma. Namun di barisan, orang-orang penakut—berwatak rendah dan tak berpegang pada dharma—berdiri di belakang; mencari perlindungan pada para pemberani, mereka menggantungkan diri pada para pahlawan, sebagaimana makhluk hidup menanti awan hujan demi air yang menghidupkan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Enduring pain and hardship in righteous battle is framed as a form of tapas that increases a kshatriya’s merit and moral stature, while cowardice is criticized as dependence on others without sharing the burden of dharma.
Bhishma contrasts two types of men in a battle setting: the true kshatriya who bears arrow-wounds and grows in tapas through endurance, and the fearful, unrighteous men who stay behind the brave and seek their protection like creatures depending on rain for life.