Shloka 40
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
एवमुक्त: स राजर्षिस्तव पूर्वपितामह: । जगाम सह धर्मेण सर्वैक्ष त्रिदिवालयै:
evam uktaḥ sa rājarṣis tava pūrva-pitāmahaḥ | jagāma saha dharmeṇa sarvaiś ca tridivālayaiḥ, janamejaya |
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „So angesprochen, brach dein Ahnherr, der königliche Weise, auf — begleitet von Dharma und von allen Bewohnern des Himmels, o Janamejaya. (In der Fortführung der Erzählung geht er zum heiligen göttlichen Strom, badet und legt dann seinen menschlichen Leib ab.)“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that steadfast dharma is not merely an abstract rule but a guiding presence: the righteous king, as a rājarṣi, moves forward in the company of Dharma itself and the heavenly order, suggesting that ethical integrity culminates in spiritual elevation and rightful passage beyond the human condition.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira, the listener’s forefather, having been addressed, departs accompanied by Dharma and the celestial beings. In the immediate narrative flow of this section, he proceeds to the sacred divine river, bathes, and then abandons his mortal body.