Shloka 26
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
देवदूतका युधिष्ठिरको मायामय नरकका दर्शन कराना स तं दुर्गन्धमालक्ष्य देवदूतमुवाच ह । कियदध्वानमस्माभिर्गन्तव्यमिममीदृशम्,वहाँकी दुर्गन्धका अनुभव करके उन्होंने देवदूतसे पूछा--“भैया! ऐसे रास्तेपर अभी हमलोगोंको कितनी दूर और चलना है? तथा मेरे वे भाई कहाँ हैं? यह तुम्हें मुझे बता देना चाहिये। देवताओंका यह कौन-सा देश है, इस बातको मैं जानना चाहता हूँ”
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: Devadūtakaḥ Yudhiṣṭhiram māyāmaya-narakasya darśanaṃ kārayām āsa. Sa taṃ durgandham ālakṣya devadūtam uvāca: “Kiyad adhvānam asmābhiḥ gantavyam imam īdṛśam? Kva ca me te bhrātaraḥ? Etad me vaktum arhasi. Devatānām ayaṃ kaḥ deśaḥ? Etad jñātum icchāmi.”
Vaiśampāyana said: The divine messenger led Yudhiṣṭhira to behold an illusory hell. Sensing the foul stench there, Yudhiṣṭhira asked the messenger, “How much farther must we go along such a path? And where are my brothers? You ought to tell me this. What region of the gods is this? I wish to understand.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even at the threshold of heaven, Yudhiṣṭhira prioritizes truth and responsibility toward his brothers over comfort. The episode frames the afterlife vision as a moral test: dharma includes steadfast concern for others and the insistence on clear knowledge rather than accepting appearances.
A divine messenger shows Yudhiṣṭhira a māyāmaya (illusory) hell. Disturbed by the stench and the harsh path, Yudhiṣṭhira questions the messenger about how far they must go, where his brothers are, and what divine region this is—seeking orientation and justice in what he is being made to witness.