Shloka 12
Chapter 26: Śoka-pratiṣedha, Hata-saṅkhyā, Gati-vibhāga, Pretakārya-ājñā
Restraint of Grief, Count of the Slain, Destinies, and Funerary Directives
धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--पुरुषप्रवर! महाबाहु युधिष्ठिर! तुम तो मुझे सर्वज्ञ जान पड़ते हो; अतः यह तो बताओ कि *वे मरे हुए सैनिक किस गतिको प्राप्त हुए हैं?' ।। युधिछ्िर उवाच यै्ुतानि शरीराणि हृष्टै: परमसंयुगे । देवराजसमाल्लॉकान् गतास्ते सत्यविक्रमा:
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: Yāni hatāni śarīrāṇi hṛṣṭaiḥ paramasaṃyuge, devarājasamān lokān gatās te satyavikramāḥ.
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Those bodies that were slain in that supreme battle—by warriors exultant in combat—those heroes of true valor have gone to realms equal to those of the king of the gods.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the death of true heroes in a righteous, climactic battle as leading to exalted realms—comparable to Indra’s—thus offering a dharmic consolation amid grief and emphasizing the traditional kṣatriya ideal that courageous, truthful valor in battle bears a lofty posthumous fruit.
In the aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war (Strī Parva’s mourning context), the question concerns the destiny of the fallen soldiers. Yudhiṣṭhira answers that those slain in the great battle, being genuine heroes, have attained divine-like worlds.