Shloka 12
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
तस्य शस्त्राणि यावन्ति त्वचं भिन्दन्ति संयुगे । तावत: सो<श्षुते लोकान् सर्वकामदुहो$क्षयान्
tasya śastrāṇi yāvanti tvacaṃ bhindanti saṃyuge | tāvataḥ so 'śnute lokān sarvakāmaduhō 'kṣayān ||
ਯੁੱਧ ਵਿੱਚ ਉਸ ਵੀਰ ਦੀ ਚਮੜੀ ਨੂੰ ਜਿੰਨੇ ਸ਼ਸਤ੍ਰ ਚੀਰਦੇ ਹਨ, ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਹੀ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਦੇ ਸਾਰੇ ਕਾਮਨਾਵਾਂ ਪੂਰੀਆਂ ਕਰਨ ਵਾਲੇ ਅਖੰਡ ਲੋਕ ਉਹ ਪ੍ਰਾਪਤ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a karmic proportionality: steadfast endurance in righteous battle—measured here by wounds borne—yields corresponding spiritual reward, described as imperishable realms that fulfill desires. It valorizes courage and non-retreat as part of kṣatriya-dharma.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, describes the fruits of a warrior’s conduct in combat. He states that each weapon-wound that pierces the hero’s skin becomes a basis for attaining exalted, inexhaustible worlds after death.