Shloka 21
दुर्योधनकवचविमर्शः
Duryodhana’s Armor and the Tactical Reassessment
क्षत्रधर्म पुरस्कृत्य गत: शूरः सतां गतिम् । यां गतिं प्राप्तुयामेह ये चान्ये शस्त्रजीविन:,शूरवीर अभिमन्युने क्षत्रिय-धर्मको आगे रखकर सत्पुरुषोंकी गति पायी है, जिसे हमलोग और इस संसारके दूसरे शस्त्रधारी क्षत्रिय भी पाना चाहते हैं
kṣatradharma-puraskṛtya gataḥ śūraḥ satāṁ gatim | yāṁ gatiṁ prāptum icchāma iha ye cānye śastra-jīvinaḥ ||
Vāyu berkata: “Dengan menempatkan dharma kesatria di hadapan, wira itu telah mencapai haluan yang ditakdirkan bagi orang-orang saleh. Keadaan itulah juga yang kami—dan para pahlawan bersenjata lain di dunia ini—cita-citakan untuk dicapai.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds kṣatriya-dharma: when a warrior acts with duty foremost—courage, righteousness, and steadfastness—his end is not mere death but a ‘gati’ (a noble destiny) associated with the virtuous, held up as an ethical ideal for other warriors.
Vāyu speaks in praise of the fallen hero (contextually Abhimanyu), declaring that by prioritizing the warrior’s code he has reached the exalted state of the righteous—an attainment that other weapon-bearing kṣatriyas also long for.