Shloka 39
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
शत्रुसेनाकलत्रस्य सर्वलोका न दूरत: । जिस वीरके लिये दक्षिणदिशामें स्थित योद्धा सदस्य हैं, उत्तरदिशावर्ती योद्धा आग्नीध्र (ऋत्विक्) हैं एवं शत्रुसेना पत्नीस्वरूप है, उसके लिये समस्त पुण्यलोक दूर नहीं हैं ।।
śatrusenā-kalatrasya sarvalokā na dūrataḥ |
アンバリーシャは言った。敵軍を己が配偶者のごとく見る戦士――戦の規律のうちに常に寄り添い、切り離し得ぬものとして受け止める者――にとって、福徳の世界は遠くない。その者は、整然たる陣立てと戦場での振る舞いを儀礼のごとく保ち、堅忍と勇気、そして授けられた役目への揺るがぬ献身によって功徳を得る。
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that steadfast performance of one’s appointed duty—here, the disciplined Kṣatriya role in battle—can become a source of great merit. When a warrior treats the enemy host as an ever-present, binding counterpart (like a spouse), he remains unwavering, and the fruits of righteous conduct are said to be near.
Ambarīṣa is speaking in the Śānti Parva, presenting a reflection on duty and the moral logic of action. He uses a striking metaphor—calling the enemy army a ‘wife’—to emphasize constancy, commitment, and the ritual-like order of a warrior’s conduct, linking such resolve with attainment of auspicious realms.