Mahabharata 9.55.8 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 55, Shloka 8
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
तत्र वै योत्स्यमाना ये देहं त्यक्ष्यन्ति मानवा: । तेषां स्वर्गे ध्रुवी वास: शक्रेण सह मारिष
tatra vai yotsyamānā ye dehaṃ tyakṣyanti mānavāḥ | teṣāṃ svarge dhruvī vāsaḥ śakreṇa saha māriṣa ||
三阇耶说道：“尊者啊，凡在彼处战斗而舍身之人，必得天界安稳之居所，与释迦罗（因陀罗）同住。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms a traditional kṣatriya ethic: one who dies while fighting in a righteous battle is believed to gain assured heavenly reward—here described as a firm residence in Svarga with Indra—thereby framing battlefield death as meaningful and meritorious rather than merely tragic.
Sanjaya, narrating events to the king, declares that the warriors who will fight at that place and fall in combat will attain heaven and dwell with Śakra (Indra), encouraging a view of impending deaths as leading to a promised celestial outcome.
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