Shloka 6
Arjuna meets the Lokapālas, is tested by Indra, and is led to Amarāvatī for astra-śikṣā
Indraloka-gamana
'पाण्डुनन्दन! पर्वतों, वनान्त प्रदेशों और काननोंसे सुशोभित इस पूर्व दिशाकी रक्षा इन्द्र और कुबेर करते हैं ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pāṇḍunandana! parvatavanānta-pradeśaiḥ kānanaiś ca suśobhitāyāḥ asyāḥ pūrvadiśaḥ rakṣāṃ indraḥ kuberaś ca kurutaḥ || etad āhuḥ mahendrasya rājño vaiśravaṇasya ca | ṛṣayaḥ sarvadharmajñāḥ saha tāta manīṣiṇaḥ || tāta! sarvadharmajñā manīṣiṇaḥ maharṣayaḥ imāṃ diśaṃ devarāja-indrasya tathā kuberasya nivāsasthānam iti vadanti | asyāṃ diśi uditasya sūryadevasya samastāḥ prajāḥ dharmajñā ṛṣayaḥ siddhā mahātmānaḥ sādhya-devāś ca upāsanāṃ kurvanti ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「パーンドゥの子よ。この東の方角は、山々と森の縁、深き林苑により飾られ、インドラとクベーラによって守護されている。あらゆるダルマに通じた賢明なるリシたちはこう宣言する。『子よ、この方角はマヘーンドラ（インドラ）とヴァイシュラヴァナ（クベーラ）の住まいと称される。ここより太陽神は昇り、万有の衆生は、ダルマを知る仙人、成就したシッダたち、偉大なる魂、そしてサーディヤの神々とともに、礼拝を捧げるのだ。』」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic map of the cosmos: directions are not merely spatial but morally and ritually charged. The East, associated with sunrise, is portrayed as protected by divine kings (Indra and Kubera) and as a locus of worship, implying that righteous order (dharma) is upheld through guardianship, reverence, and alignment with cosmic rhythms.
Vaiśampāyana explains to the Pāṇḍava (addressed as ‘son of Pāṇḍu’) the sanctity of the eastern quarter. He reports the sages’ traditional statement that Indra and Kubera guard it and that beings and exalted classes of sages and gods worship the rising Sun from this direction.