Shloka 17
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
आगच्छ नरशार्दूल मुक्तास्ते चैव कल्मषात्
āgaccha naraśārdūla muktās te caiva kalmaṣāt | puruṣasiṃha āgaccha te sarve pāpāt pramuktāḥ | bharataśreṣṭha tava pakṣasya ye ye rājāno yuddhe hatās te sarve svargalokaṃ prāptāḥ | cala teṣāṃ darśanaṃ kuru ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana dit : «Viens, tigre parmi les hommes. Ils ont, en vérité, été délivrés de toute souillure. Ô lion parmi les hommes, viens : tous les rois tombés au combat de ton côté sont parvenus au monde céleste, affranchis du péché. Viens maintenant et contemple-les.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames death in righteous battle as leading to purification and a heavenly attainment, emphasizing the epic idea that one’s end-state is shaped by dharma and the moral quality of one’s action, not merely by the fact of violence.
Vaiśaṃpāyana urges the addressed hero (praised as ‘tiger/lion among men’ and ‘best of the Bharatas’) to come and see the kings from his side who were slain in the war; they are described as freed from sin and already arrived in Svargaloka.