Shloka 3
निरय-परमस्थान-वर्णनम्
Niraya and the Supreme Station: A Metaphysical Re-reading
स्वर्ग: प्रकाश इत्याहुर्नरक॑ तम एव च । सत्यानृतं तदुभयं प्राप्पते जगतीचरै:,स्वर्ग प्रकाशभय है और नरक अन्धकारमय है, ऐसा कहते हैं। सत्य और अनृतसे युक्त जो मानव-योनि है, वह ज्ञान और अज्ञान दोनोंके सम्मिश्रणसे जगत्के जीवोंको प्राप्त होती है
svargaḥ prakāśa ity āhur narakaṃ tama eva ca | satyānṛtaṃ tad ubhayaṃ prāpnoti jagatīcaraiḥ ||
Bharadvāja berkata: “Mereka menyatakan bahwa surga adalah cahaya, dan neraka tak lain hanyalah kegelapan. Namun keadaan manusia adalah campuran kebenaran dan ketidakbenaran; melalui keadaan yang berbaur—di mana pengetahuan dan ketidaktahuan saling terjalin—makhluk berjasad yang bergerak di dunia mengalami keduanya.”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heaven and hell are framed as light and darkness, but human life is portrayed as a mixed field of satya (truth/clarity) and anṛta (untruth/obscurity). Because of this mixture, beings in the world encounter both knowledge and ignorance and thereby move toward experiences associated with both ‘light’ and ‘darkness’.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bharadvāja is explaining a moral-psychological mapping of realms: svarga as illumination and naraka as darkness, then qualifying it by describing the human realm as a blended condition through which worldly beings come to partake of both.