Shloka 12
Bala and Dharma in Kṣatriya Governance (बल-धर्म सम्बन्धः)
हतो वा दिवमारोहेद्धत्वा वा क्षितिमावसेत् । युद्धे हि संत्यजन् प्राणान् शक्रस्यैति सलोकताम्
hato vā divam ārohed dhatvā vā kṣitim āvaset | yuddhe hi saṃtyajan prāṇān śakrasya eti salokatām ||
اگر وہ جنگ میں مارا جائے تو وہ جنت کے بلند ترین مقام پر چڑھ جاتا ہے؛ اور اگر وہی دشمن کو قتل کرے تو زمین کی بادشاہی بھوگتا ہے۔ جو جنگ میں جان نچھاور کرتا ہے وہ اندرلोक میں پہنچتا ہے۔
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battle-duty in terms of dharmic resolve and its fruits: a warrior who does not shrink from combat gains either earthly sovereignty if victorious or heavenly attainment—specifically Indra’s realm—if he dies while fighting.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on righteous conduct and social duties; here he articulates a traditional kṣatriya rationale for steadfastness in war, contrasting the outcomes of being slain versus slaying the enemy, and linking death in battle to reaching Śakra’s world.