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 ||
न यज्ञैर्दक्षिणावद्भिर्न तपोभिरनन्यविद्यया । तथा स्वर्गमुपायान्ति यथा शूरास्तनुत्यजः ॥
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.