Shloka 16
राज्ञोऽभिषेकः, अराजकदोषः, दण्डधारणस्य आवश्यकता
Royal Consecration, the Fault of Kinglessness, and the Necessity of Enforcement
मृत्युर्वा रक्षणं वेति यस्य राज्ञो विनिश्चय: । प्राणद्यूते ततस्तस्य ब्रह्माश्रमप्द भवेत्,जो राजा युद्धमें प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर इस निश्चयके साथ शत्रुओंका सामना करता है कि 'या तो मैं मर जाऊँगा या देशकी रक्षा करके ही रहूँगा” उसे भी ब्रह्माश्रम अर्थात् संन्यास-आश्रमके पालनका ही फल प्राप्त होता है
mṛtyur vā rakṣaṇaṃ veti yasya rājño viniścayaḥ | prāṇadyūte tataḥ tasya brahmāśramapadaṃ bhavet ||
भीष्म उवाच—मृत्युर्वा रक्षणं वेति यस्य राज्ञो विनिश्चयः। प्राणद्यूते ततस्तस्य ब्रह्माश्रमपदं भवेत्॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler who risks his life with unwavering resolve to protect his realm—accepting death rather than abandoning duty—earns a spiritual merit comparable to that of the renunciant ideal (brahma-āśrama). The verse elevates selfless, duty-bound courage to the level of ascetic spiritual attainment.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he explains that a king who faces battle with life as the stake, determined either to die or to protect, gains the fruit associated with the Brahma-āśrama—linking righteous kingship and battlefield self-sacrifice with high spiritual reward.