Shloka 59
न ह्ाधर्मो5स्ति पापीयान् क्षत्रियस्थ पलायनात् | न युद्धधर्माच्छेयो हि पन्था: स्वर्गस्य कौरवा: । अचिरेण हता लोकान् सद्यो योधा: समश्चुत,“कौरववीरो! क्षत्रियके लिये युद्धसे पीठ दिखाकर भागनेसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई महान् पाप नहीं है तथा युद्धधर्मके पालनसे बढ़कर दूसरा कोई स्वर्गकी प्राप्तिका कल्याणकारी मार्ग भी नहीं है; अतः योद्धाओ! तुम युद्धमें मारे जाकर शीघ्र ही उत्तम लोकोंके सुखका अनुभव करो”
na hy adharmo 'sti pāpīyān kṣatriyasya palāyanāt | na yuddhadharmāc chreyo hi panthāḥ svargasya kauravāḥ | acireṇa hatā lokān sadyo yodhāḥ samaśnute ||
Sañjaya said: “For a kṣatriya there is no sin more grievous than fleeing the battlefield. Nor is there any path to heaven more beneficial than adherence to the warrior’s duty in war, O Kauravas. Therefore, warriors—once slain, you will swiftly attain the higher worlds and at once partake of their joys.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a kṣatriya-centered ethic: fleeing from battle is presented as the gravest adharma for a warrior, while steadfast adherence to yuddha-dharma is portrayed as the most auspicious route to svarga. It frames courage and duty in war as both moral obligation and spiritually consequential.
Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, addresses the Kaurava side with a forceful reminder of warrior duty. He urges the fighters not to retreat, emphasizing that death in righteous battle leads swiftly to higher worlds and their enjoyments.