Shloka 33
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
पूर्व परीक्षितो हि त्व॑ं प्रश्नाद् द्वैृतवने मया । अरणीसहितस्यार्थ तच्च निस्तीर्णवानसि
pūrvaṃ parīkṣito hi tvaṃ praśnād dvaitavane mayā | araṇīsahitasya arthaṃ tac ca nistīrṇavān asi ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: “Dahulu, di Dvaitavana, aku menguji engkau dengan pertanyaan-pertanyaan setelah kayu penggesek api (araṇi) itu diambil. Engkau lulus ujian itu dengan baik.”
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.