Shloka 32
शल्यस्य सेनापत्याभ्युपगमः | Śalya’s Acceptance of Command
गृहे यत् क्षत्रियस्यापि निधन तद् विगर्हितम् । अधर्म: सुमहानेष यच्छय्यामरणं गृहे
gṛhe yat kṣatriyasyāpi nidhanaṁ tad vigarhitam | adharmaḥ sumahān eṣa yacchayyāmaraṇaṁ gṛhe ||
Sañjaya berkata: Bahkan bagi seorang kṣatriya, mati di rumah dianggap tercela. Mati di rumah—berbaring di atas katil—dipandang sebagai pelanggaran dharma yang amat besar bagi seorang pahlawan; kerana jalan yang ditetapkan baginya ialah menghadapi bahaya dan maut di medan kewajipan, bukan dalam kesenangan yang terlindung.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts kṣatriya-dharma: a warrior’s honorable end is tied to active duty and courage. Dying comfortably at home—symbolized by ‘death on a bed’—is portrayed as a serious lapse from the warrior’s ethical vocation.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, comments on the standards of warrior conduct. He frames death-at-home for a kṣatriya as censurable, reinforcing the epic’s battlefield code of honor and duty.