Shloka 34
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणाभिमुख्यं तथा सात्यकि-कर्ण-समागमः
Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s advance toward Droṇa and the Sātyaki–Karṇa confrontation
शरानास्तीर्य सव्येन पाणिना पुण्यलक्षण: । यियासुर्ब्रह्य लोकाय प्राणान् प्राणेष्वधाजुहोत्,पवित्र लक्षणोंवाले भूरिश्रवाने बायें हाथसे बाण बिछाकर ब्रह्मलोकमें जानेकी इच्छासे प्राणायामके द्वारा प्राणोंको प्राणोंमें ही होम दिया
śarān āstīrya savyena pāṇinā puṇyalakṣaṇaḥ | yiyāsur brahmalokāya prāṇān prāṇeṣv adhājuhot ||
Sañjaya said: The virtuous Bhūriśravā, spreading arrows with his left hand as a sacred seat, and desiring to depart for Brahmaloka, offered his vital breaths into the vital breaths themselves—performing an inner oblation through disciplined breath-control. In the midst of war, he turns from violence to a final act of self-mastery and ritual purity, seeking a higher world through yogic restraint rather than further combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid the chaos of battle, the text highlights the possibility of turning inward: mastery of breath and mind (prāṇāyāma) is portrayed as a sacred act like homa, directing one’s end toward purity and a higher goal rather than further aggression.
Bhūriśravā, described as virtuous, prepares for death by arranging arrows as a support and then performs a yogic, internalized sacrifice—offering prāṇa into prāṇa through breath-discipline—seeking departure to Brahmaloka.