Shloka 49
यो हि शैनेय मित्रार्थे युध्यमानस्त्यजेत् तनुम् । पृथिवीं च द्विजातिभ्यो यो दद्यात् स समो भवेत्,शैनेय! जो मित्रके लिये युद्ध करते हुए शरीरका त्याग करता है तथा जो ब्राह्मणोंको समूची पृथ्वीका दान कर देता है, वे दोनों समान पुण्यके भागी होते हैं
yo hi śaineya mitrārthe yudhyamānas tyajet tanum | pṛthivīṃ ca dvijātibhyo yo dadyāt sa samo bhavet śaineya ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Śaineya, sesiapa yang bertempur demi sahabat lalu mengorbankan tubuhnya, dan sesiapa yang menghadiahkan seluruh bumi sebagai dana kepada golongan dwija (Brahmana)—kedua-duanya sama dalam pahala.”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse equates two supreme acts of merit: laying down one’s life in righteous battle for a friend, and the extraordinary gift of the whole earth to Brahmins. It frames loyalty and self-sacrifice in war as ethically comparable to the highest form of charitable giving.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Śaineya, holding up an ideal of conduct amid the Drona Parva’s intense warfare: steadfast fighting motivated by friendship and duty, and the recognition that such sacrifice earns merit on par with legendary acts of royal generosity.