Shloka 24
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
अविक्षतेन देहेन प्रलयं योडधिगच्छति । क्षत्रियो नास्य तत् कर्म प्रशंसन्ति पुराविद:
avikṣatena dehena pralayaṃ yo ’dhigacchati | kṣatriyo nāsya tat karma praśaṃsanti purāvidaḥ ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang kṣatriya na sumasalubong sa kamatayan habang ang katawan ay hindi man lamang nasugatan—na bumabagsak sa kawalang-lakas sa halip na tumindig sa digmaan—ay hindi pinupuri ng mga pantas na nakaaalam ng sinaunang gawi. Sa batas ng mandirigma, ang kamatayan ay dapat harapin nang may tapang at paninindigan, hindi sa duwag na pagbagsak at pagdaing nang hindi pa man tinatamaan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that for a kshatriya, honorable conduct requires courage and steadfastness; dying without having faced injury or combat—through collapse, fear, or lamentation—is not commended by authorities on ancient dharma.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma is advising about proper warrior conduct, contrasting praised death in the line of duty with blameworthy death that comes without battle or wounds.