Shloka 23
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
ददर्शोष्णोदकै: पूर्णा नदीं चापि सुदुर्गमाम् । असिपत्रवनं चैव निशितं क्षुरसंवृतम्
dadarśoṣṇodakaiḥ pūrṇāṃ nadīṃ cāpi sudurgamām | asipatravanaṃ caiva niśitaṃ kṣurasaṃvṛtam ||
قال فايشَمبايانا: رأى نهراً مملوءاً بماءٍ يغلي حَرّاً، عسيرَ العبور غايةَ العسر؛ ورأى أيضاً الغابة المسماة «أسيپترَفَنا»، حادّةً، مطوَّقةً بشِفارٍ كالموس، أوراقُها كالسيوف. إنّ هذا المشهد يُنذر بالعواقب القاسية لمن سقطوا في مسالك الأدهرما، حيث يغدو المكان نفسه أداةً للجزاء.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic consequence: harmful actions lead to painful results, portrayed through terrifying, punitive landscapes. It reinforces the ethical imperative to follow dharma so that one does not encounter such suffering in the afterlife.
The narrator describes what is seen on the journey: a river of scalding water that is hard to cross, and the razor-sharp Asipatravana forest. These are presented as formidable, fearsome regions associated with post-mortem suffering.