Shloka 23
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
ददर्शोष्णोदकै: पूर्णा नदीं चापि सुदुर्गमाम् । असिपत्रवनं चैव निशितं क्षुरसंवृतम्
dadarśoṣṇodakaiḥ pūrṇāṃ nadīṃ cāpi sudurgamām | asipatravanaṃ caiva niśitaṃ kṣurasaṃvṛtam ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Vio un río colmado de agua hirviente, dificilísimo de cruzar; y también el bosque llamado Asipatravana, cortante, cercado por filos como navajas, con hojas semejantes a espadas. Aquella visión anuncia las duras consecuencias que aguardan a quienes han caído en sendas de adharma, donde el propio paisaje se vuelve instrumento de retribución.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic consequence: harmful actions lead to painful results, portrayed through terrifying, punitive landscapes. It reinforces the ethical imperative to follow dharma so that one does not encounter such suffering in the afterlife.
The narrator describes what is seen on the journey: a river of scalding water that is hard to cross, and the razor-sharp Asipatravana forest. These are presented as formidable, fearsome regions associated with post-mortem suffering.