Shloka 33
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
पूर्व परीक्षितो हि त्व॑ं प्रश्नाद् द्वैृतवने मया । अरणीसहितस्यार्थ तच्च निस्तीर्णवानसि,'द्वैतववनमें अरणिकाष्ठका अपहरण करनेके पश्चात् जब यक्षके रूपमें मैंने तुमसे कई प्रश्न किये थे वह मेरे द्वारा तुम्हारी पहली परीक्षा थी। उसमें तुम भलीभाँति उत्तीर्ण हो गये
pūrvaṃ parīkṣito hi tvaṃ praśnād dvaitavane mayā | araṇīsahitasya arthaṃ tac ca nistīrṇavān asi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Earlier, in the Dvaitavana, I tested you through questions, after the fire-kindling sticks (araṇi) had been taken away. You passed that trial well.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
True worth is revealed under examination: steadfastness in dharma, clarity of judgment, and ethical speech are proven through questioning and trial, not by power or circumstance.
The narrator recalls an earlier episode in the Dvaita forest where the listener (implicitly Yudhiṣṭhira) was tested through a series of questions connected with the taking of the araṇi; he is affirmed to have passed that test successfully.