Shloka 36
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
नच ते भ्रातरः पार्थ नरकार्हा विशाम्पते । मायैषा देवराजेन महेन्द्रेण प्रयोजिता,'पार्थ! प्रजानाथ! तुम्हारे भाई नरकमें रहनेके योग्य नहीं हैं। तुमने जो उन्हें नरक भोगते देखा है वह देवराज इन्द्रद्वारा प्रकट की हुई माया थी
na ca te bhrātaraḥ pārtha narakārhā viśāmpate | māyaiṣā devarājena mahendreṇa prayojitā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O Pārtha, lord of the people, your brothers are not fit to dwell in hell. What you saw of them undergoing torment in hell was only an illusion contrived and displayed by Indra, the king of the gods.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that apparent suffering in the moral cosmos may sometimes be a divinely arranged test or revelation rather than a final judgment. It reassures that the Pāṇḍavas’ essential righteousness is recognized, and that perception can be clouded by māyā; therefore one should not hastily conclude about another’s ultimate fate.
After the climactic journey toward heaven, the protagonist witnesses his brothers seemingly experiencing hellish torment. Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that this vision was not their true destiny but an illusion orchestrated by Indra, meant to disclose, test, or complete the narrative’s moral resolution before the final heavenly outcome.