Shloka 47
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
“वह तो यहाँ अत्यन्त सम्मानित होकर महेन्द्रके समान राजलक्ष्मीसे सम्पन्न हुआ है। इधर यह किस कर्मका फल है कि मेरे सगे-सम्बन्धी नरकमें पड़े हुए हैं? ।। सर्वधर्मविद: शूरा: सत्यागमपरायणा: । क्षत्रधर्मरता: सन््तो यज्वानो भूरिदक्षिणा:,“मेरे भाई सम्पूर्ण धर्मके ज्ञाता, शूरवीर, सत्यवादी तथा शास्त्रके अनुकूल चलनेवाले थे। इन्होंने क्षत्रिय-धर्ममें तत्यर रहकर बड़े-बड़े यज्ञ किये और बहुत-सी दक्षिणाएँ दी हैं (तथापि इनकी ऐसी दुर्गति क्यों हुई)?
sa tu iha atyanta-sammānito mahendra-samaḥ rāja-lakṣmyā sampannaḥ | iha ca idaṃ kasya karmaṇaḥ phalaṃ yat mama saga-sambandhino narake patitāḥ || sarva-dharma-vidaḥ śūrāḥ satyāgama-parāyaṇāḥ | kṣatra-dharma-ratāḥ santaḥ yajvāno bhūri-dakṣiṇāḥ ||
He, on the other hand, is here highly honored, endowed with royal fortune like Indra himself. But what deed’s result is this, that my own kinsmen have fallen into hell? My brothers were knowers of all dharma—valiant, truthful, and devoted to conduct in accord with the sacred teachings. Steadfast in the warrior’s duty, they performed great sacrifices and gave abundant gifts; and yet why has such a fate befallen them?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between visible merit (valor, truthfulness, sacrifices, generosity) and unseen karmic consequence. It raises the ethical problem of how outcomes in the afterlife may reflect subtle or prior causes beyond outwardly righteous conduct, prompting inquiry into the complexity of karma and dharma.
A speaker observes that one person is honored and prosperous like Indra, while the speaker’s own close relatives have fallen into hell. The speaker protests that these kinsmen were exemplary kṣatriyas—brave, truthful, scripturally aligned, and generous sacrificers—and asks why they have met such a grim destiny.