Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, Shloka 51
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
स तीव्रगन्धसंतप्तो देवदूतमुवाच ह । गम्यतां तत्र येषां त्वं दूतस्तेषामुपान्तिकम्
sa tīvra-gandha-santapto deva-dūtam uvāca ha | gamyatāṃ tatra yeṣāṃ tvaṃ dūtas teṣām upāntikam |
वह असह्य दुर्गन्ध से संतप्त होकर देवदूत से बोला—“तुम जिनके दूत हो, उन्हीं के पास लौट जाओ। मैं वहाँ नहीं जाऊँगा; मैं यहीं ठहरूँगा। यह बात अपने स्वामियों से कह देना। क्योंकि मेरे निकट रहने से यहाँ मेरे ये दुखी भाई-बन्धु कुछ सुख पाते हैं।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Compassion and solidarity can outweigh personal comfort: the hero chooses to remain with suffering kin so that his presence eases their pain, embodying dharma as empathetic responsibility rather than self-serving reward.
Overwhelmed by a dreadful stench in the infernal region, he tells the divine messenger to return to the gods and report that he will not proceed; he resolves to stay where his distressed brothers and relatives are, because they gain relief from his nearness.