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 ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Er sah einen Fluss, angefüllt mit siedendem Wasser, überaus schwer zu durchqueren; und er sah auch den Wald namens Asipatravana, schneidend scharf, umhegt von klingenartigen Schneiden wie Rasiermesser, mit Blättern gleich Schwertern. Das Bild kündet von den harten Folgen für jene, die auf Pfade des Adharma geraten sind, wo selbst die Landschaft zum Werkzeug der Vergeltung wird.
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.