Shloka 24
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
करम्भवालुकास्तप्ता आयसीश्व शिला:पृथक् । लोहकुम्भी श्व॒ तैलस्य क्वाथ्यमाना: समन्ततः,कहीं गरम-गरम बालू बिछी है तो कहीं तपाये हुए लोहेकी बड़ी-बड़ी चट्टानें रखी गयी हैं। चारों ओर लोहेके कलशोंमें तेल खौलाया जा रहा है
karambha-vālukās taptā āyasīś ca śilāḥ pṛthak | loha-kumbhī ca tailasya kvāthyamānāḥ samantataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In some places, heaps of sand mixed with gruel lie scorching hot; elsewhere, massive iron slabs are set apart. And all around, oil is being boiled in iron cauldrons.” The scene deepens the air of retribution: the path ahead is a landscape of punitive heat and torment, recalling the consequences that follow adharma and accumulated wrongdoing.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reinforces the Mahābhārata’s ethical vision that actions bear consequences: adharma and moral failure culminate in suffering, portrayed through vivid punitive imagery. The narrative uses sensory detail (heat, iron, boiling oil) to make karmic retribution emotionally and morally tangible.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying environment encountered on the way—scorching sand and gruel-like hot deposits, iron slabs, and iron cauldrons of boiling oil all around—setting the tone for a passage that depicts ordeal and the harsh landscape associated with posthumous judgment and suffering.