The Social and Military Position of the Ruling Caste in Ancient India, as Represented by the Sanskrit Epic c2.s5.15

c2.s5.15

¹⁸ ** iv. 38. 29; v. 3. 20 ff.; 185. 11; viii. 93. 55 ff. = ix. 19. 63 (ib. 59 = ib. 64). †† The exhortations just before the great war opens are not more expressive than those in mid-fight. They all breathe the same spirit, that it is pleasant and holy to die fighting, and that this assures heaven hereafter. ‘The best death is on the field of battle;’ ‘either victory or a battle-death—this is the eternal law proclaimed by the creator,’ (v. 51. 51; 73. 4; ix. 31. 34). Compare also v. 75. 23: ‘a warrior does not own what he does not win by his strength’ (yad ojasā na labhate kṣatriyo