Shloka 24
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
करम्भवालुकास्तप्ता आयसीश्व शिला:पृथक् । लोहकुम्भी श्व॒ तैलस्य क्वाथ्यमाना: समन्ततः
karambha-vālukās taptā āyasīś ca śilāḥ pṛthak | loha-kumbhī ca tailasya kvāthyamānāḥ samantataḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「ある所には、粥（カランバ）を混ぜた砂の山が灼けつくように熱く横たわり、またある所には、巨大な鉄の板が区切られて置かれている。さらに四方では、鉄の大釜で油が煮えたぎっている。」この光景は報いの気配をいっそう濃くする。前途は、懲罰の熱と責め苦の地として描かれ、アダルマと積み重ねた罪業の帰結を想起させるのである。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse reinforces the Mahābhārata’s ethical vision that actions bear consequences: adharma and moral failure culminate in suffering, portrayed through vivid punitive imagery. The narrative uses sensory detail (heat, iron, boiling oil) to make karmic retribution emotionally and morally tangible.
Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying environment encountered on the way—scorching sand and gruel-like hot deposits, iron slabs, and iron cauldrons of boiling oil all around—setting the tone for a passage that depicts ordeal and the harsh landscape associated with posthumous judgment and suffering.