Shloka 39
Yuddha-yajña-vyākhyāna (The Battle as Sacrifice): Ambarīṣa–Indra Saṃvāda
शत्रुसेनाकलत्रस्य सर्वलोका न दूरत: । जिस वीरके लिये दक्षिणदिशामें स्थित योद्धा सदस्य हैं, उत्तरदिशावर्ती योद्धा आग्नीध्र (ऋत्विक्) हैं एवं शत्रुसेना पत्नीस्वरूप है, उसके लिये समस्त पुण्यलोक दूर नहीं हैं ।।
śatrusenā-kalatrasya sarvalokā na dūrataḥ |
安婆梨沙说道：对于那位把敌军视作自己“配偶”的战士——在战斗的戒律中恒常相随、不可分离——诸福德之界并不遥远。此人阵列有序、行止如仪，宛若奉行神圣职责；他以坚忍、勇毅与对所授本分的不移之心而积聚功德。
अम्बरीष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that steadfast performance of one’s appointed duty—here, the disciplined Kṣatriya role in battle—can become a source of great merit. When a warrior treats the enemy host as an ever-present, binding counterpart (like a spouse), he remains unwavering, and the fruits of righteous conduct are said to be near.
Ambarīṣa is speaking in the Śānti Parva, presenting a reflection on duty and the moral logic of action. He uses a striking metaphor—calling the enemy army a ‘wife’—to emphasize constancy, commitment, and the ritual-like order of a warrior’s conduct, linking such resolve with attainment of auspicious realms.