Shloka 18
स्त्रीपर्व — नवमोऽध्यायः | Dhṛtarāṣṭra summons the Kuru women; the city departs in collective lamentation
न यज्ञैर्दक्षिणावद्धिर्न तपोभिरनन विद्यया । तथा स्वर्गमुपायान्ति यथा शूरास्तनुत्यज:,“अपने शरीरका त्याग करनेवाले शूरवीर जिस तरह स्वर्गमें जाते हैं, उस तरह दक्षिणावाले यज्ञों, तपस्याओं तथा विद्यासे भी कोई नहीं जा सकता
na yajñair dakṣiṇāvaddhir na tapobhir na vidyayā | tathā svargam upāyānti yathā śūrās tanutyajaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Bukan dengan korban suci yang disertai hadiah pendeta yang melimpah, bukan dengan tapa, dan bukan juga dengan ilmu pengetahuan seseorang mencapai syurga sebagaimana para wira yang melepaskan tubuh mereka di medan perang.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that heroic self-sacrifice—giving up one’s life with valor in a righteous context—is portrayed as an exceptionally potent means of attaining heaven, even more immediately efficacious than meritorious rituals with gifts, austerities, or learning.
In Strī Parva’s lamentation-filled aftermath of the war, Vaiśampāyana articulates a consolatory and evaluative principle: despite the immense grief, the fallen warriors who relinquished their bodies as heroes are said to attain heaven in a way that ordinary religious merits cannot match.