Shloka 43
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
कि तु तत् कलुषं कर्म कृतमेभिमहात्मभि: । कर्णेन द्रौपदेयैर्वा पा्चाल्या वा सुमध्यया
kiṃ tu tat kaluṣaṃ karma kṛtam ebhiḥ mahātmabhiḥ | karṇena draupadeyair vā pāñcālyā vā sumadhyayā ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Mais quel acte souillant ces âmes magnanimes ont-elles jamais commis—Karṇa, ou les fils de Draupadī, ou Draupadī elle-même à la taille fine—pour demeurer en ce lieu fétide et terrible ? Je ne connais aucun péché qu’aient commis ces hommes entièrement vertueux.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between outward virtue and the hidden workings of karma: even those regarded as noble may appear to suffer, prompting inquiry into subtle moral causality and the limits of human judgment about merit and sin.
In the Svargarohana episode, the narrator frames a question about why revered figures—Karṇa, Draupadī, and her sons—are seen in a foul, terrifying realm, despite being known as righteous; it sets up an explanation of karmic residues and the moral complexity of the epic’s end.