एतच् च सर्ववीराणां काङ्क्षितं भरतर्षभ ॥
संग्रामे ऽभिमुखा मृत्युं प्रप्नुयामेति मानद ॥
स च वीरान् रणे हत्वा राजपुत्रान् महाबलान् ॥
वीरैर् आकाङ्क्षितं मृत्युं संप्राप्तो ऽभिमुखो रणे ॥
मा शुचः पुरुषव्याघ्र पूर्वैर् एष सनातनः ॥
धर्मकृद्भिः कृतो धर्मः क्षत्रियाणां रणे क्षयः ॥
etac ca sarvavīrāṇāṃ kāṅkṣitaṃ bharatarṣabha ||
saṃgrāme 'bhimukhā mṛtyuṃ prapnuyāmeti mānada ||
sa ca vīrān raṇe hatvā rājaputrān mahābalān ||
vīrair ākāṅkṣitaṃ mṛtyuṃ saṃprāpto 'bhimukho raṇe ||
mā śucaḥ puruṣavyāghra pūrvair eṣa sanātanaḥ ||
dharmakṛdbhiḥ kṛto dharmaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṃ raṇe kṣayaḥ ||
"And this is craved by all warriors, O bull among Bharatas: 'In battle, facing the foe, may we receive death', O honorer. And he, having slain mighty princes in battle, attained the death craved by warriors — facing the foe. Do not grieve, O tiger among men: of old, upholders of dharma laid down this eternal law — the perishing of kshatriyas in battle."
19ebe03dc45d · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
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Krishna turns grief into honor: the death that befell the boy is "vīraiḥ ākāṅkṣitam mṛtyum", "the death craved by all heroes" — to fall facing the foe, having slain the mighty. What Arjuna mourns, others long for as the highest attainment. "Pūrvaiḥ… sanātanaḥ dharmaḥ kṛtaḥ", "the eternal law laid down by the ancients", — the death of a kshatriya in battle is not a misfortune but the fulfillment of the world's order. It is telling that this consolation rests not on feeling but on eternal dharma. The verse teaches that grief turns into peace when a loved one's death is seen not as a rupture but as the attainment of that to which he was called.