Shloka 6
Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā
Indraloka-gamana
'पाण्डुनन्दन! पर्वतों, वनान्त प्रदेशों और काननोंसे सुशोभित इस पूर्व दिशाकी रक्षा इन्द्र और कुबेर करते हैं ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pāṇḍunandana! parvatavanānta-pradeśaiḥ kānanaiś ca suśobhitāyāḥ asyāḥ pūrvadiśaḥ rakṣāṃ indraḥ kuberaś ca kurutaḥ || etad āhuḥ mahendrasya rājño vaiśravaṇasya ca | ṛṣayaḥ sarvadharmajñāḥ saha tāta manīṣiṇaḥ || tāta! sarvadharmajñā manīṣiṇaḥ maharṣayaḥ imāṃ diśaṃ devarāja-indrasya tathā kuberasya nivāsasthānam iti vadanti | asyāṃ diśi uditasya sūryadevasya samastāḥ prajāḥ dharmajñā ṛṣayaḥ siddhā mahātmānaḥ sādhya-devāś ca upāsanāṃ kurvanti ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô fils de Pāṇḍu ! Cet orient—orné de montagnes, de lisières forestières et de profondes futaies—est gardé par Indra et Kubera. Ainsi l’affirment les rishis, sages pénétrés de tout dharma : “Mon enfant, cette direction est dite la demeure du roi Mahendra (Indra) et de Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera). C’est d’ici que se lève le Soleil, et tous les êtres—avec les rishis connaissant le dharma, les Siddhas accomplis, les grandes âmes et les divinités Sādhya—offrent leur vénération.”»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic map of the cosmos: directions are not merely spatial but morally and ritually charged. The East, associated with sunrise, is portrayed as protected by divine kings (Indra and Kubera) and as a locus of worship, implying that righteous order (dharma) is upheld through guardianship, reverence, and alignment with cosmic rhythms.
Vaiśampāyana explains to the Pāṇḍava (addressed as ‘son of Pāṇḍu’) the sanctity of the eastern quarter. He reports the sages’ traditional statement that Indra and Kubera guard it and that beings and exalted classes of sages and gods worship the rising Sun from this direction.