Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 26
Dāna-Śreṣṭhatā: Abhaya, Anugraha, and the Ethics of Honoring the Worthy (दानश्रेष्ठता: अभय-अनुग्रह-विप्रपूजा)
यत् ते वने5स्मिन् नृपते दृष्टं दिव्यं निदर्शनम्
yat te vane 'smin nṛpate dṛṣṭaṃ divyaṃ nidarśanam | nareśvara rājan asmin vane tvaṃ yo divyo dṛśyo dṛṣṭavān sa svargasyaikā jhāṅkā āsīt | nṛpaśreṣṭha bhūpāla tvam ātmanaḥ patnyā saha asminn eva śarīreṇa kiñcit kālaṃ svargīya-sukham anubhūtavān asi ||
قال تشيَفانا: «أيها الملك، إن المشهد العجيب الإلهي الذي رأيتَه في هذه الغابة لم يكن إلا لمحةً من السماء. يا سيدَ الناس، يا خيرَ الحكّام—لقد ذُقتَ مع ملكتك، في هذا الجسد بعينه، نعيمًا سماويًّا لبرهةٍ يسيرة. فاعلمها علامةً: ثمارُ الفضل تُذاق، لكنها زائلةٌ إن لم تُبنَ على الدارما.»
च्यवन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that extraordinary pleasures and visions—like a glimpse of heaven—can arise as fruits of merit, but they are temporary. A ruler should not cling to such experiences; instead, he should ground his life in dharma, which alone gives lasting welfare beyond momentary delight.
Sage Cyavana addresses a king who has witnessed a divine spectacle in a forest. Cyavana explains that what the king saw was a preview of heaven, and that the king, along with his queen, briefly experienced heavenly happiness while still embodied.