Shloka 3
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Bereavement and the Averted Assault on Bhīma (Āyasī Pratimā Episode)
पुत्रस्तव महाराज कृत्वा कर्म सुदुष्करम् | गत: सानुचरो राजन् शक्रलोकं॑ महीपते,'पृथ्वीनाथ महाराज! आपका पुत्र अत्यन्त दुष्कर कर्म करके अपने सेवकोंसहित इन्द्रलोकमें जा पहुँचा है
putras tava mahārāja kṛtvā karma suduṣkaram | gataḥ sānucaro rājan śakralokaṁ mahīpate |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O great king, your son—having accomplished an exceedingly difficult deed—has departed, together with his attendants, to Śakra’s world (Indra’s heaven), O lord of the earth.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a warrior’s supremely difficult act as leading to a heavenly destination, reflecting the epic’s moral logic that extraordinary, duty-aligned deeds—especially in the kṣatriya context—can culminate in posthumous honor and celestial reward, even amid the tragedy of war.
Vaiśampāyana informs the addressed king that his son, after performing a formidable deed, has died (or departed from the human realm) and reached Indra’s heaven, accompanied by his attendants—an announcement that both reports the outcome and implicitly offers consolation through the idea of heavenly attainment.