Shloka 150
Kuberasaras-darśana (Bhīma beholds Kubera’s guarded lotus-lake) / कुबेरसरः-दर्शनम्
जैसे तपस्या, धर्म, इन्द्रिय-संयम और यज्ञानुष्ठानके द्वारा ब्राह्मण उत्तम लोकमें जाते हैं तथा जिस प्रकार वैश्य दान और आतिथ्यरूप धर्मोसे उत्तम गति प्राप्त कर लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार इस लोकमें निग्रह और अनुग्रहके यथोचित प्रयोगसे क्षत्रिय स्वर्गलोकमें जाता है। जिनके द्वारा दण्डनीतिका उचित रीतिसे प्रयोग किया जाता है, जो राग-द्वेषसे रहित, लोभशून्य तथा क्रोधहीन हैं; वे क्षत्रिय सत्पुरुषोंको प्राप्त होनेवाले लोकोंमें जाते हैं ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि तीर्थयात्रापर्वणि लोमशतीर्थयात्रायां हनुमद्धीमसेनसंवादे पज्चाशदधिकशततमो<ध्याय:
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yathā tapasā dharmeṇa indriya-saṃyamena yajñānuṣṭhānena ca brāhmaṇā uttamaṃ lokaṃ yānti, yathā ca vaiśyā dānena ātithya-rūpeṇa dharmeṇa uttamāṃ gatiṃ prāpnuvanti, tathā asmin loke nigraha-anugrahayoḥ yathocita-prayogena kṣatriyaḥ svarga-lokaṃ yāti | ye daṇḍa-nītiṃ yathā-vidhi samyak prayuñjate, ye rāga-dveṣa-vivarjitāḥ, lobha-śūnyāḥ krodha-hīnāś ca, te kṣatriyāḥ sat-puruṣāṇāṃ prāpyān lokān gacchanti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Just as brāhmaṇas reach the highest worlds through austerity, righteousness, restraint of the senses, and the proper performance of sacrifices, and just as vaiśyas attain an excellent destiny through charity and the dharma of hospitality, so too a kṣatriya reaches heaven in this world by applying, in due measure, both restraint and favor. Those who employ the science of punishment and governance (dandanīti) correctly—free from attachment and aversion, devoid of greed, and without anger—such kṣatriyas go to the realms attained by the truly good.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Each social role has its own dharma leading to spiritual merit: brāhmaṇas through austerity and ritual discipline, vaiśyas through charity and hospitality, and kṣatriyas through balanced governance—using restraint (nigraha) and benevolence (anugraha) appropriately, guided by daṇḍa-nīti and free from passion, hatred, greed, and anger.
In the context of the Vana Parva’s pilgrimage narrative and the Hanumān–Bhīmasena dialogue frame, Vaiśampāyana states a general ethical principle: the kṣatriya’s path to heaven is not mere force, but just rule—measured punishment and timely favor—grounded in inner self-mastery.