Shloka 25

Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm

Devanagari script

कूटशाल्मलिकं चापि दुःस्पर्श तीक्ष्णकण्टकम्‌ । ददर्श चापि कौन्तेयो यातना: पापकर्मिणाम्‌

Transliteration

kūṭaśālmalikaṃ cāpi duḥsparśa-tīkṣṇa-kaṇṭakam | dadarśa cāpi kaunteyo yātanāḥ pāpa-karmiṇām ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Der Sohn der Kuntī erblickte auch die trügerischen Śālmalī-Bäume, schwer zu berühren, starrend vor scharfen Dornen; und er sah ebenso die strengen Qualen, die dort jenen zugefügt wurden, die sündhafte Taten begangen hatten.

Word by Word

• कूटशाल्मलिकम्: a (so-called) 'kūṭa-śālmali' tree (spiky silk-cotton tree)
• कूटशाल्मलिकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कूटशाल्मलिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)

• दुःस्पर्शम्: hard to touch
• दुःस्पर्शम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःस्पर्श (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तीक्ष्णकण्टकम्: having sharp thorns
• तीक्ष्णकण्टकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्णकण्टक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• ददर्श: saw
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• अपि: also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)

• कौन्तेयः: the son of Kuntī (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• कौन्तेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौन्तेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यातनाः: tortures/punishments
• यातनाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: यातना (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• पापकर्मिणाम्: of evil-doers/sinners
• Type: Noun
• Root: पापकर्मिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kaunteya (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• kūṭa-śālmalī (deceptive śālmalī trees)
• sharp thorns (tīkṣṇa-kaṇṭaka)
• pāpa-karmī (sinful-doers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Actions bear consequences: those who engage in pāpa (wrongdoing) encounter painful results, depicted here as harsh yātanās. The imagery reinforces ethical accountability and the inevitability of karmic fruition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira, guided through the post-mortem realms, witnesses frightening scenes: deceptive śālmalī trees covered with sharp thorns and the severe punishments meted out to sinful beings.