Shloka 51
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
स तीव्रगन्धसंतप्तो देवदूतमुवाच ह । गम्यतां तत्र येषां त्वं दूतस्तेषामुपान्तिकम्,उन्होंने वहाँकी दुःसह दुर्गन्न्धसे संतप्त होकर देवदूतसे कहा--“तुम जिनके दूत हो उनके पास लौट जाओ । मैं वहाँ नहीं चलूँगा। यहीं ठहर गया हूँ, अपने मालिकोंको इसकी सूचना दे देना। यहाँ ठहरनेका कारण यह है कि मेरे निकट रहनेसे यहाँ मेरे इन दुखी भाई- बन्धुओंको सुख मिलता है”
sa tīvra-gandha-santapto deva-dūtam uvāca ha | gamyatāṃ tatra yeṣāṃ tvaṃ dūtas teṣām upāntikam |
Tormented by the unbearable stench, he said to the divine messenger: “Go back to those whose envoy you are. I will not go there. I will remain here—inform your masters of this. For by staying near me, these afflicted brothers and kinsmen find some comfort.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Compassion and solidarity can outweigh personal comfort: the hero chooses to remain with suffering kin so that his presence eases their pain, embodying dharma as empathetic responsibility rather than self-serving reward.
Overwhelmed by a dreadful stench in the infernal region, he tells the divine messenger to return to the gods and report that he will not proceed; he resolves to stay where his distressed brothers and relatives are, because they gain relief from his nearness.