Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 11

दानशील-समाचारः, सत्कारः, अहिंसा च

Umā–Maheśvara Saṃvāda

Devanagari script

मर्त्यानां स्वर्गकामानां प्रेत्य स्वर्गसुखावह:

Transliteration

martyānāṁ svargakāmānāṁ pretya svargasukhāvahaḥ

Translation

Dhaugya said: “For mortals who long for heaven, it becomes—after death—a bringer of the happiness of heaven.”

Word by Word

• मर्त्यानाम्: of mortals
• मर्त्यानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मर्त्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• स्वर्गकामानाम्: of those desiring heaven
• स्वर्गकामानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्गकाम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• प्रेत्य: having departed (after death)
• प्रेत्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्र + इ (प्रे)
• Form: Gerund (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय), indeclinable

• स्वर्गसुखावहः: bringing the happiness of heaven
• स्वर्गसुखावहः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्वर्गसुखावह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

धौग्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhaugya
• svarga (heaven)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores a karmic-ethical principle: for those who aim at heavenly attainment, the relevant dharmic act or discipline yields its fruit after death as the enjoyment of heavenly happiness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhaugya is explaining the posthumous result of a heaven-oriented pursuit, stating that it becomes a cause of heavenly bliss in the hereafter for mortals who desire svarga.