Shloka 22
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
वहाँ यत्र-तत्र बहुत-से मुर्दे बिखरे पड़े थे, उनमेंसे किसीके शरीरसे रुधिर और मेद बहते थे, किसीके बाहु, ऊरु, पेट और हाथ-पैर कट गये थे ।।
sa tat-kuṇapa-durgandham aśivaṁ lomaharṣaṇam | jagāma rājā dharmātmā madhye bahu vicintayan ||
Disse Vaiśaṃpāyana: O rei justo, Yudhiṣṭhira, avançou por aquele mesmo caminho—empestado pelo fedor de cadáveres em decomposição, sinistro e de arrepiar—enquanto revolvia em si muitos pensamentos. A cena era horrenda e de mau agouro; ainda assim, ele prosseguiu, carregado de reflexão moral interior em meio aos despojos da violência.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even a dharmic person must confront the consequences of violence without denial: the king proceeds through an inauspicious, horrifying scene while reflecting deeply, suggesting that ethical life includes sober reckoning with suffering and the moral weight of actions.
As narrated by Vaiśaṃpāyana, King Yudhiṣṭhira continues along a path filled with the stench and horror of decaying corpses; despite the terrifying, ill-omened surroundings, he moves forward while absorbed in anxious contemplation.