वसिष्ठ उवाच । शास्त्रोक्ताचारयुक्तस्य प्रभोरर्थेन यो रणे । मृतो वाऽथ जयी वा स्यात् स शूरः शूरलोकभाक् ॥ २४ ॥
vasiṣṭha uvāca | śāstrōktācārayuktasya prabhōrarthēna yō raṇē | mṛtō vā’tha jayī vā syāt sa śūraḥ śūralōkabhāk || 24 ||
Translation
Vasiṣṭha said: He who in battle fights for a lord who keeps the conduct scripture lays down, and dies there or wins, is a hero, a sharer in the heroes' world.
Word by word
- śāstra
- scripture
- ukta
- lays down
- ācāra
- the conduct
- yuktasya
- who keeps
- prabhōr
- (prabhoḥ) of a lord
- arthēna
- for the sake
- yō
- (yaḥ) he who
- raṇē
- in battle
- mṛtō
- (mṛtaḥ) dies
- vā
- or
- atha
- and
- jayī
- wins
- syāt
- is
- sa
- he
- śūraḥ
- a hero
- śūra
- of the heroes
- lōka
- the world
- bhāk
- a sharer in
Meaning
The answer turns entirely on the cause. Courage alone does not make a hero; what matters is whom one fights for. A lord who lives by the conduct the scriptures teach is a righteous cause, and whoever fights for him, alive or dead, victor or slain, is a śūra and reaches the world of heroes. The outcome of the fight does not decide it.