Shloka 6
Adhyāya 3: Indra’s Invitation and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Refusal to Abandon the Dog
Svargārohaṇa Test
निक्षिप्य मानुषं देहं गतास्ते भरतर्षभ | अनेन त्वं शरीरेण स्वर्गे गन्ता न संशय:,भरतभूषण! वे मानवशरीरका परित्याग करके स्वर्गमें गये हैं; किंतु तुम इसी शरीरसे वहाँ चलोगे, इसमें संशय नहीं है
nikṣipya mānuṣaṃ dehaṃ gatās te bharatarṣabha | anena tvaṃ śarīreṇa svarge gantā na saṃśayaḥ ||
Śakra said: “O bull among the Bharatas, they have gone to heaven after casting off the human body. But you, adorned glory of the Bharata line, will go to heaven with this very body—of this there is no doubt.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts ordinary post-mortem ascent (reaching heaven after abandoning the human body) with an exceptional, divinely affirmed reward: the righteous person may be granted bodily ascent, underscoring the extraordinary fruit of steadfast dharma.
Indra (Śakra) addresses Yudhiṣṭhira, explaining that the others have reached heaven after leaving their bodies, while Yudhiṣṭhira is assured entry into heaven in the same body, marking his unique culmination of the great journey.