Shloka 19
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
अस्थिकेशसमाकीर्ण कृमिकीटसमाकुलम् । ज्वलनेन प्रदीप्तेन समन्तात् परिवेष्टितम्,हड्डियाँ और केश चारों ओर फैले हुए थे। कृमि और कीटोंसे वह मार्ग भरा हुआ था। उसे चारों ओरसे जलती आगने घेर रखा था
asthikeśasamākīrṇaṃ kṛmikīṭasamākulam | jvalanena pradīptena samantāt pariveṣṭitam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: The path was strewn everywhere with bones and hair, swarming with worms and insects, and on all sides it was encircled by blazing fire—an image of the dreadful consequences that attend the soul’s passage when it confronts the residues of violence and suffering.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses stark imagery—remains, vermin, and encircling fire—to underscore that the journey toward higher realms is not merely a reward but a moral reckoning: one must face the consequences and residues of harm, violence, and suffering, highlighting the ethical seriousness of dharma and karma.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying stretch of the way: it is littered with bones and hair, infested with worms and insects, and surrounded by blazing fire, portraying a hell-like passage encountered in the Svargarohana (ascent to heaven) narrative.