Shloka 276
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
आत्मानं यूपमुत्सृज्य स यज्ञोडनन्तदक्षिण: । जब लुटेरे ब्राह्मणके धनका अपहरण करते हों
ātmānaṃ yūpam utsṛjya sa yajño 'nantadakṣiṇaḥ |
Ketika para perampok merampas harta seorang brāhmaṇa, maka orang gagah yang, dalam pertempuran yang harus ditempuh melawan mereka, berikhtiar merelakan bahkan tubuhnya yang tercinta—seakan mempersembahkan tubuh itu sebagai yūpa—pertempuran itulah yang disebut yajña yang dianugerahi dakṣiṇā tanpa akhir.
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
Righteous combat undertaken to protect a brāhmaṇa (and, by extension, the innocent and dharma) is elevated to the status of a sacrifice: offering one’s own body like a yūpa makes the act spiritually meritorious, ‘endowed with endless dakṣiṇās,’ rather than mere aggression.
Ambarīṣa explains that when robbers plunder a brāhmaṇa’s wealth, a heroic defender who enters battle ready to give up his life is effectively performing a yajña; the battlefield becomes the ritual arena and self-sacrifice becomes the offering.