Shloka 12
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
तस्य शस्त्राणि यावन्ति त्वचं भिन्दन्ति संयुगे । तावत: सो<श्षुते लोकान् सर्वकामदुहो$क्षयान्
tasya śastrāṇi yāvanti tvacaṃ bhindanti saṃyuge | tāvataḥ so 'śnute lokān sarvakāmaduhō 'kṣayān ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Trong chiến trận, bao nhiêu vũ khí đâm xuyên và xé rách da thịt của vị anh hùng ấy, thì bấy nhiêu lần người ấy đạt đến những cõi bất hoại, nơi ban cho mọi điều mong ước.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a karmic proportionality: steadfast endurance in righteous battle—measured here by wounds borne—yields corresponding spiritual reward, described as imperishable realms that fulfill desires. It valorizes courage and non-retreat as part of kṣatriya-dharma.
Bhīṣma, instructing on dharma in the Śānti Parva, describes the fruits of a warrior’s conduct in combat. He states that each weapon-wound that pierces the hero’s skin becomes a basis for attaining exalted, inexhaustible worlds after death.