Shloka 31
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
विगाहा[ वाहिनीमध्यं तस्य लोका यथा मम । जो विजयके लिये युद्धमें डटा रहकर शत्रुकी सेनामें घुस जाता है और दूसरे किसी भी सहायककी अपेक्षा नहीं रखता, उसे मेरे समान ही लोक प्राप्त होते हैं ।।
ambarīṣa uvāca |
vigāhya vāhinī-madhyaṁ tasya lokā yathā mama |
yo vijayāya yuddhe daṭvā śatru-senāṁ praviśati na ca anyam upakāram apekṣate, sa mamaiva lokān avāpnoti ||
yasya śoṇita-saṅghātā bherī-maṇḍūka-kacchapā nadī yodhasya saṅgrāme, tad asyāvabhṛthaṁ smṛtam |
安婆利沙说道：“那人以胜利为志，立于战阵不退，直闯敌军之中而不求他助——此人将得与我相类之诸界。 又有战士，其‘战争之祭’中血河奔流——战鼓之声如蛙如龟——踏入那可怖的洪流，于他便如阿婆毗利他（avabhṛtha）之浴，即祭祀终了的净身沉浸。故而，在合乎达摩的征战中，坚忍之勇与自立之决，被称颂为能结灵果的祭行。”
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames steadfast, self-reliant valor in battle—entering the enemy host without depending on external aid—as a dharmic act that yields exalted posthumous realms. It also interprets the horrors of combat through sacrificial symbolism, suggesting that for a righteous warrior the ordeal functions like the purificatory completion (avabhṛtha) of a sacrifice.
Ambarīṣa is speaking within Śānti Parva’s ethical discourse, praising the warrior who stands firm for victory and describing battle through a vivid metaphor: a river of blood with war-drums likened to frogs and tortoises. This imagery recasts the battlefield as a ritual arena, linking martial duty to sacrificial merit.