Shloka 59
एभिरेव शरैश्षाहं दग्धव्यो5स्मि नराधिपा: । 'क्षत्रियधर्ममें जिसकी प्रशंसा की गयी है, उस उत्तम गतिको मैं प्राप्त हुआ हूँ। भूपालो! मैं बाणशय्यापर सोया हुआ हूँ। अब मेरा यह धर्म नहीं है कि इन बाणोंको निकालकर चिकित्सा कराऊँ। नरेश्वरो! मेरे इस शरीरको इन बाणोंके साथ ही दग्ध कर देना चाहिये || ५८ ह || तच्छुत्वा वचन तस्य पुत्रो दुर्योधनस्तव
sañjaya uvāca | ebhir eva śaraiḥ śāhaṃ dagdhavyo 'smi narādhipāḥ | kṣatriyadharme yasya praśaṃsā kṛtā, tām uttamāṃ gatiṃ prāpto 'smi | bhūpālāḥ, ahaṃ bāṇaśayyāyāṃ śayānaḥ | adhunā mama dharmo na, etān bāṇān uddhṛtya cikitsāṃ kārayitum | nareśvarāḥ, mama etat śarīraṃ ebhiḥ bāṇaiḥ sahaiva dagdhaṃ kartavyaṃ ||
Sanjaya said: “O kings, I am to be cremated with these very arrows still in my body. I have attained that highest course of destiny which is praised in the dharma of kshatriyas. O rulers, I lie upon a bed of arrows; it is no longer my duty to have these arrows removed and seek treatment. O lords of men, this body of mine should be burned together with these arrows.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames a warrior’s end as an ethical choice: accepting the consequences of battle without clinging to bodily preservation. By refusing to remove the arrows for treatment and asking to be cremated as he is, the speaker presents steadfastness, honor, and fidelity to kṣatriya-dharma as a ‘highest destiny’ praised for warriors.
In the aftermath of grievous wounding in war, the speaker—addressing kings—declares that he lies on a bed of arrows and should not seek medical intervention. He instructs that his body be cremated with the arrows still embedded, presenting this as consistent with the warrior code and as the culmination of a praised kṣatriya end.