Mahabharata 9.55.9 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 55, Shloka 9
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
तस्मात् समन्तपञ्चकमितो याम द्रुतं नूप । प्रथितोत्तरवेदी सा देवलोके प्रजापते:
sañjaya uvāca | tasmāt samantapañcakam ito yāma drutaṃ nṛpa | prathitottaravedī sā devaloke prajāpateḥ ||
Sañjaya nói: “Vì vậy, tâu đại vương, chúng ta hãy mau rời đây đến Samantapañcaka. Mảnh đất ấy trong cõi chư thiên nổi danh là ‘uttaravedī’—‘bàn thờ phương bắc’ của Prajāpati. Ở thánh địa tối thượng, vĩnh cửu của ba cõi ấy, người nào tử trận trong chiến đấu ắt chắc chắn được về trời.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links sacred place (tīrtha) and righteous warrior-death: dying in battle at a supremely holy field is portrayed as yielding assured heavenly attainment, reflecting the epic’s kṣatriya ideal and the belief in place-based merit.
Sañjaya addresses the king and urges swift movement to the sacred region called Samantapañcaka, identifying it with Prajāpati’s famed ‘northern altar’ in devaloka and emphasizing its extraordinary sanctity and salvific promise for those who fall there in battle.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.