Shloka 14
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
पूर्व नरकभाग् यस्तु पश्चात् स्वर्गमुपैति सः । भूयिष्ठं पापकर्मा यः स पूर्व स्वर्गमश्षुते,'परंतु जो पहले नरक भोग लेता है वह पीछे स्वर्गमें जाता है। जिसके पास पापकर्मोका संग्रह अधिक है वह पहले ही स्वर्ग भोग लेता है
pūrvaṁ narakabhāg yas tu paścāt svargam upaiti saḥ | bhūyiṣṭhaṁ pāpakarmā yaḥ sa pūrvaṁ svargam aśnute ||
Vaiśampāyana said: One who first undergoes a share of hell thereafter attains heaven. But the one whose store of sinful deeds is greater enjoys heaven first—only later meeting the painful consequences. The verse frames post-mortem experience as a moral sequencing: mixed karma can yield both pleasure and suffering, and the order depends on which tendency predominates.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that beings with mixed karma may experience both suffering (naraka) and enjoyment (svarga), and the order can differ: one may suffer first and then enjoy, while one with a predominance of sinful karma may enjoy first but later face painful retribution.
In Svargārohaṇa, the text reflects on the moral logic behind post-death destinies. Vaiśampāyana explains how the fruits of deeds can manifest in different sequences, clarifying why some may appear to receive happiness before suffering, or vice versa.