The Warrior’s Death and Its Reward

Verse 1 (12.97.1)

क्षत्रधर्माद्धि पापीयान्न धर्मोऽस्ति नराधिप । अपयाने च युद्धे च राजा हन्ति महाजनम् ॥

kṣatradharmāddhi pāpīyānna dharmo'sti narādhipa | apayāne ca yuddhe ca rājā hanti mahājanam

There is nothing more sinful than the duty of a kshatriya, O lord of men: in retreat and in battle alike, the king kills multitudes of people.

Note on the text: Line 1 is a variant of CE 12.98.1a (CE kṣatradharmān na pāpīyān dharmo ’sti bharatarṣabha). Line 2 reads अपयाने (in retreat) where the CE has abhiyāne (in attack); the Wikisource word is good Sanskrit and is kept as printed.

Verse 2 (12.97.2)

अथ स्म कर्मणा केन लोकाञ्जयति पार्थिवः । विद्वञ्जिज्ञासमानाय प्रब्रूहि भरतर्षभ ॥

atha sma karmaṇā kena lokāñjayati pārthivaḥ | vidvañjijñāsamānāya prabrūhi bharatarṣabha

By what deed, then, does a king win the worlds? Tell me, O best of the Bharatas, for I ask in order to know, O learned one.

Verse 3 (12.97.3)

निग्रहेण च पापानां साधूनां संग्रहेण च । यज्ञैर्दानैश्च राजानो भवन्ति शुचयोऽमलाः ॥

nigraheṇa ca pāpānāṃ sādhūnāṃ saṃgraheṇa ca | yajñairdānaiśca rājāno bhavanti śucayo'malāḥ

By restraining the wicked and gathering the good, and by sacrifices and gifts, kings become pure and free from stain.

Verse 4 (12.97.4)

उपरुन्धन्ति राजानो भूतानि विजयार्थिनः । त एव विजयं प्राप्य वर्धयन्ति पुनः प्रजाः ॥

uparundhanti rājāno bhūtāni vijayārthinaḥ | ta eva vijayaṃ prāpya vardhayanti punaḥ prajāḥ

Kings seeking victory press hard upon living beings; yet those same kings, once victorious, make their people prosper again.

Verse 5 (12.97.5)

अपविध्यन्ति पापानि दानयज्ञतपोबलैः । अनुग्रहेण भूतानां पुण्यमेषां विवर्धते ॥

apavidhyanti pāpāni dānayajñatapobalaiḥ | anugraheṇa bhūtānāṃ puṇyameṣāṃ vivardhate

By the power of gifts, sacrifices and austerity they cast off their sins; and through kindness to beings their merit grows.

Verse 6 (12.97.6)

यथैव क्षेत्रनिर्याता निर्यातं क्षेत्रमेव च । हिनस्ति धान्यकक्षं च न च धान्यं विनश्यति ॥

yathaiva kṣetraniryātā niryātaṃ kṣetrameva ca | hinasti dhānyakakṣaṃ ca na ca dhānyaṃ vinaśyati

Just as a man who weeds a field cuts down the rank growth among the grain, and yet the grain is not destroyed,

Note on the text: Wikisource’s reading differs from the CE (CE yathaiva kṣetranirdātā nirdan vai kṣetram ekadā / hinasti kakṣaṃ dhānyaṃ ca …); the page’s commentary glosses निर्याता as the one who clears the field and कक्ष as grass. Kept as printed.

Verse 7 (12.97.7)

एवं शस्त्राणि मुञ्चन्तो घ्नन्ति वध्याननेकधा । तस्यैषा निष्कृतिर्दृष्टा भूतानां भावनं पुनः ॥

evaṃ śastrāṇi muñcanto ghnanti vadhyānanekadhā | tasyaiṣā niṣkṛtirdṛṣṭā bhūtānāṃ bhāvanaṃ punaḥ

so those who loose weapons kill, in many ways, those who deserve to die; for this the remedy is seen in the nurturing of living beings again.

Verse 8 (12.97.8)

यो भूतानि सदाऽनर्थाद्वधात्क्लेशाच्च रक्षति । दस्युभ्यः प्राणदानात्स धनदः सुखदो विराट् ॥

yo bhūtāni sadā'narthādvadhātkleśācca rakṣati | dasyubhyaḥ prāṇadānātsa dhanadaḥ sukhado virāṭ

He who protects living beings from harm, from killing and from torment, and saves their lives from robbers, is a giver of wealth and a giver of happiness, a sovereign.

Verse 9 (12.97.9)

स सर्वयज्ञैरीजानो राजाऽथाभयदक्षिणैः । अनुभूयेह भद्राणि प्राप्नोतीन्द्रसलोकताम् ॥

sa sarvayajñairījāno rājā'thābhayadakṣiṇaiḥ | anubhūyeha bhadrāṇi prāpnotīndrasalokatām

Such a king, having sacrificed with all sacrifices and with gifts of fearlessness as his fees, enjoys good fortune here and attains the world of Indra.

Note on the text: Corrected सर्वयज्ञारीजानो → सर्वयज्ञैरीजानो (misprint in Wikisource; the sandhi vowel is wrong, ā for ai; the critical edition reads sarvayajñair ījāno).

Verse 10 (12.97.10)

ब्राह्मणार्थे समुत्पन्ने योऽभिनिष्पत्य युध्यति । आत्मानं यूपमुत्सृज्य स यज्ञोऽनन्तदक्षिणः ॥

brāhmaṇārthe samutpanne yo'bhiniṣpatya yudhyati | ātmānaṃ yūpamutsṛjya sa yajño'nantadakṣiṇaḥ

He who, when a brahmin’s need arises, goes forth and fights, giving up his own body as the sacrificial post — his is a sacrifice with endless fees.

Verse 11 (12.97.11)

अभीतो विकिरञ्शत्रून्प्रतिगृह्य शरांस्तथा । न तस्मान्त्रिदशाः श्रेयो भुवि पश्यन्ति किंचन ॥

abhīto vikirañśatrūnpratigṛhya śarāṃstathā | na tasmāntridaśāḥ śreyo bhuvi paśyanti kiṃcana

Fearless, scattering his foes and taking their arrows upon himself, he is one than whom the gods see nothing better on earth.

Verse 12 (12.97.12)

तस्य शस्त्राणि यावन्ति त्वचं भिन्दन्ति संयुगे । तावतः सोऽश्नुते लोकान्सर्वकामदुहोऽक्षयान् ॥

tasya śastrāṇi yāvanti tvacaṃ bhindanti saṃyuge | tāvataḥ so'śnute lokānsarvakāmaduho'kṣayān

As many weapons as pierce his skin in battle, so many imperishable worlds, granting every desire, does he enjoy.

Verse 13 (12.97.13)

यदस्य रुधिरं गात्रादाहवे संप्रवर्तते । सह तेनैव स्रावेण सर्वपापैः प्रमुच्यते ॥

yadasya rudhiraṃ gātrādāhave saṃpravartate | saha tenaiva srāveṇa sarvapāpaiḥ pramucyate

The blood that flows from his body in battle — along with that very flow he is freed from all sins.

Verse 14 (12.97.14)

यानि दुःखानि सहते प्राणानामतिपातने । न तपोऽस्ति ततो भूय इति धर्मविदो विदुः ॥

yāni duḥkhāni sahate prāṇānāmatipātane | na tapo'sti tato bhūya iti dharmavido viduḥ

The sufferings he endures when his life is being taken — there is no austerity greater than that, so those who know dharma say.

Verse 15 (12.97.15)

पृष्ठतो भीरवः सङ्ख्ये वर्तन्तेऽधर्मपूरुषाः । शूराच्छरणमिच्छन्तः पर्जन्यादिव जीवनम् ॥

pṛṣṭhato bhīravaḥ saṅkhye vartante'dharmapūruṣāḥ | śūrāccharaṇamicchantaḥ parjanyādiva jīvanam

In battle the fearful, unrighteous men stay behind, seeking shelter from the hero as living beings seek life from the rain-cloud.

Note on the text: Corrected वर्तन्ते धर्मपूरुषाः → वर्तन्तेऽधर्मपूरुषाः (misprint in Wikisource; the avagraha of अधर्म is lost, which reverses the sense — the cowards are the ‘unrighteous men’, as in verse 20 and the critical edition’s ’dhamapūruṣāḥ).

Verse 16 (12.97.16)

यदि शूरं तथा क्षेमे प्रतीक्षेरन्यथा भये । प्रतिरूपं जनाः कुर्युर्न च तद्वर्तते तथा ॥

yadi śūraṃ tathā kṣeme pratīkṣeranyathā bhaye | pratirūpaṃ janāḥ kuryurna ca tadvartate tathā

If people looked to the hero in safety as they do in danger, they would make him a fitting return; but it is not so.

Verse 17 (12.97.17)

यदि ते कृतमाज्ञाय नमस्कुर्युः सदैव तम् । युक्तं न्याय्यं च कुर्युस्ते न च तद्वर्तते तथा ॥

yadi te kṛtamājñāya namaskuryuḥ sadaiva tam | yuktaṃ nyāyyaṃ ca kuryuste na ca tadvartate tathā

If they, recognising what he has done, always bowed to him and did what is fitting and just toward him — but it is not so.

Verse 18 (12.97.18)

पुरुषाणां समानानां दृश्यते महदन्तरम् । संग्रामेऽनीकवेलायामुत्कृष्टेषु पतत्सु च ॥

puruṣāṇāṃ samānānāṃ dṛśyate mahadantaram | saṃgrāme'nīkavelāyāmutkṛṣṭeṣu patatsu ca

A great difference is seen among men who are alike, in battle, at the hour when the armies meet, when shouts go up and men are falling.

Verse 19 (12.97.19)

पतत्यभिमुखं शूरः परान्भीरुः पलायते । आस्थायास्वर्ग्यमध्वानं सहायान्विषमे त्यजन् ॥

patatyabhimukhaṃ śūraḥ parānbhīruḥ palāyate | āsthāyāsvargyamadhvānaṃ sahāyānviṣame tyajan

The hero falls facing the foe; the coward flees from them, taking a road that leads away from heaven, deserting his allies in their peril.

Note on the text: Corrected आस्थाय स्वर्ग्यमध्वानं → आस्थायास्वर्ग्यमध्वानं (misprint in Wikisource; the a of अस्वर्ग्य is dropped, which reverses the sense — the coward takes a road that does not lead to heaven; the critical edition reads āsthāyāsvargyam adhvānam).

Verse 20 (12.97.20)

मा स्म तांस्तादृशांस्तात जनिष्ठाऽधर्मपूरुषान् ॥

mā sma tāṃstādṛśāṃstāta janiṣṭhā'dharmapūruṣān

My child, never give birth to such wretched, unrighteous men —

Note on the text: Corrected जनिष्टा → जनिष्ठा (misprint in Wikisource; ट for ठ, the aorist ending is -ṣṭhāḥ; the critical edition reads janiṣṭhāḥ). This verse is the first line of CE 12.98.20 (20a); the relative clause that completes it (20c) begins the next verse. Line reads अधर्मपूरुषान् where the CE has puruṣādhamān, a recension variant.

Verse 21 (12.97.21)

ये सहायान्रणे हित्वा स्वस्तिमन्तो गृहान्ययुः । अस्वस्ति तेभ्यः कुर्वन्ति देवा इन्द्रपुरोगमाः ॥

ye sahāyānraṇe hitvā svastimanto gṛhānyayuḥ | asvasti tebhyaḥ kurvanti devā indrapurogamāḥ

who, abandoning their allies in battle, go home in safety. The gods, with Indra at their head, bring misfortune upon them.

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.98.20c (the relative clause completing the previous verse); line 2 = CE 12.98.21a. The alignment found no match for CE 12.98.20–22.

Verse 22 (12.97.22)

त्यागेन यः सहायानां स्वान्प्राणांस्त्रातुमिच्छति । तं हन्युः काष्ठलोहैर्वा दहेयुर्वा कटाग्निना । पशुवन्मारयेयुर्वा क्षत्रिया ये स्युरीदृशाः ॥

tyāgena yaḥ sahāyānāṃ svānprāṇāṃstrātumicchati | taṃ hanyuḥ kāṣṭhalohairvā daheyurvā kaṭāgninā | paśuvanmārayeyurvā kṣatriyā ye syurīdṛśāḥ

He who by abandoning his allies wishes to save his own life — they should kill him with staves and iron, or burn him in a fire of matting, or slaughter him like an animal; and likewise any kshatriyas who are of such a kind.

Note on the text: Line 1 = CE 12.98.21c; lines 2–3 = CE 12.98.22a, 22c (line 2 reads काष्ठलोहैः where the CE has kāṣṭhaloṣṭaiḥ, kept as a recension variant).

Verse 23 (12.97.23)

अधर्मः क्षत्रियस्यैष यच्छय्यामरणं भवेत् । विसृजञ्श्लेष्मपित्तानि कृपणं परिदेवयन् ॥

adharmaḥ kṣatriyasyaiṣa yacchayyāmaraṇaṃ bhavet | visṛjañśleṣmapittāni kṛpaṇaṃ paridevayan

It is unrighteous for a kshatriya to die in his bed, discharging phlegm and bile and lamenting piteously.

Verse 24 (12.97.24)

अविक्षतेन देहेन प्रलयं योऽधिगच्छति । क्षत्रियो नास्य तत्कर्म प्रशंसन्ति पुराविदः ॥

avikṣatena dehena pralayaṃ yo'dhigacchati | kṣatriyo nāsya tatkarma praśaṃsanti purāvidaḥ

A kshatriya who meets his end with an unwounded body — those who know the ancient ways do not praise that deed of his.

Verse 25 (12.97.25)

न गृहे मरणं तात क्षत्रियाणां प्रशस्यते । शौण्डीराणामशौण्डीर्यमधर्मं कृपणं च तत् ॥

na gṛhe maraṇaṃ tāta kṣatriyāṇāṃ praśasyate | śauṇḍīrāṇāmaśauṇḍīryamadharmaṃ kṛpaṇaṃ ca tat

Death at home, dear child, is not praised for kshatriyas; for men proud of their valour it is unmanliness, unrighteousness and wretchedness.

Verse 26 (12.97.26)

इदं कृच्छ्रमहो दुःखं पापीय इति निष्टनन् । प्रतिध्वस्तमुखः पूतिरमात्याननुशोचयन् ॥

idaṃ kṛcchramaho duḥkhaṃ pāpīya iti niṣṭanan | pratidhvastamukhaḥ pūtiramātyānanuśocayan

‘Oh, this is grievous, dreadful suffering, how wretched!’ — groaning thus, his face ruined, foul-smelling, making his counsellors mourn,

Verse 27 (12.97.27)

अरोगाणां स्पृहयते मुहुर्मृत्युमपीच्छति । वीरो दृप्तो मनस्वी च नेदृशं मृत्युमर्हति ॥

arogāṇāṃ spṛhayate muhurmṛtyumapīcchati | vīro dṛpto manasvī ca nedṛśaṃ mṛtyumarhati

he envies the healthy, and again and again even wishes for death. A hero, proud and high-spirited, does not deserve a death like this.

Verse 28 (12.97.28)

रणेषु कदनं कृत्वा सुहृद्भिः प्रतिपूजितः । तीक्ष्णैः शस्त्रैरभिक्लिष्टः क्षत्रियो मृत्युमर्हति ॥

raṇeṣu kadanaṃ kṛtvā suhṛdbhiḥ pratipūjitaḥ | tīkṣṇaiḥ śastrairabhikliṣṭaḥ kṣatriyo mṛtyumarhati

A kshatriya who has wrought havoc in battles, has been honoured in turn by his friends, and is grievously torn by sharp weapons, deserves such a death.

Note on the text: Corrected प्रतिपूजित → प्रतिपूजितः (misprint in Wikisource; the visarga is dropped) and मुत्युमर्हति → मृत्युमर्हति (misprint in Wikisource; u for ṛ; the critical edition reads mṛtyum arhati).

Verse 29 (12.97.29)

शूरो हि सत्वमन्युभ्यामाविष्टो युध्यते भृशम् । कृत्यमानानि गात्राणि परैर्नैवावबुध्यते ॥

śūro hi satvamanyubhyāmāviṣṭo yudhyate bhṛśam | kṛtyamānāni gātrāṇi parairnaivāvabudhyate

A hero filled with courage and fury fights fiercely; though his limbs are being cut by the enemy, he does not even notice.

Note on the text: Corrected मशम् → भृशम् (misprint in Wikisource; मशम् is not a word; the critical edition reads bhṛśam).

Verse 30 (12.97.30)

स सङ्ख्ये निधनं प्राप्य प्रशस्तं लोकपूजितम् । स्वधर्मं विपुलं प्राप्य शक्रस्यैति सलोकताम् ॥

sa saṅkhye nidhanaṃ prāpya praśastaṃ lokapūjitam | svadharmaṃ vipulaṃ prāpya śakrasyaiti salokatām

Having met his end in battle, praised and honoured by the world, and gained a great store of merit from his own dharma, he goes to the world of Shakra.

Verse 31 (12.97.31)

सर्वोपायै रणमुखमातिष्ठंस्त्यक्तजीवितः । प्राप्नोतीन्द्रस्य सालोक्यं शूरः पृष्ठमदर्शयन् ॥

sarvopāyai raṇamukhamātiṣṭhaṃstyaktajīvitaḥ | prāpnotīndrasya sālokyaṃ śūraḥ pṛṣṭhamadarśayan

Taking his stand at the front of the battle by every means, careless of his life, the hero who does not show his back attains the world of Indra.

Note on the text: Wikisource’s wording differs from the CE (CE sarvo yodhaḥ paraṃ tyaktum āviṣṭas tyaktajīvitaḥ); kept as a recension variant.

Verse 32 (12.97.32)

यत्रयत्र हतः शूरः शत्रुभिः परिवारितः । अक्षयांल्लभते लोकान्यदि दैन्यं न सेवते ॥

yatrayatra hataḥ śūraḥ śatrubhiḥ parivāritaḥ | akṣayāṃllabhate lokānyadi dainyaṃ na sevate

Wherever a hero is slain, surrounded by his enemies, he wins imperishable worlds, provided he does not give way to wretchedness.

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition’s constituted text: this couplet is the CE star passage 12.98.31d*0229_01 and _02 (printed after the last verse of the adhyaya). The alignment found no match.