Shloka 47
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
“वह तो यहाँ अत्यन्त सम्मानित होकर महेन्द्रके समान राजलक्ष्मीसे सम्पन्न हुआ है। इधर यह किस कर्मका फल है कि मेरे सगे-सम्बन्धी नरकमें पड़े हुए हैं? ।।
sa tu iha atyanta-sammānito mahendra-samaḥ rāja-lakṣmyā sampannaḥ | iha ca idaṃ kasya karmaṇaḥ phalaṃ yat mama saga-sambandhino narake patitāḥ || sarva-dharma-vidaḥ śūrāḥ satyāgama-parāyaṇāḥ | kṣatra-dharma-ratāḥ santaḥ yajvāno bhūri-dakṣiṇāḥ ||
Ele, ao contrário, é aqui altamente honrado, dotado de fortuna régia como o próprio Indra. Mas que fruto de que ato é este, para que meus próprios parentes tenham caído no inferno? Meus irmãos eram conhecedores de todo o dharma—valentes, verazes e devotados a uma conduta conforme aos ensinamentos sagrados. Firmes no dever do kṣatriya, realizaram grandes sacrifícios e deram dádivas abundantes; e, ainda assim, por que lhes sobreveio tal destino?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between visible merit (valor, truthfulness, sacrifices, generosity) and unseen karmic consequence. It raises the ethical problem of how outcomes in the afterlife may reflect subtle or prior causes beyond outwardly righteous conduct, prompting inquiry into the complexity of karma and dharma.
A speaker observes that one person is honored and prosperous like Indra, while the speaker’s own close relatives have fallen into hell. The speaker protests that these kinsmen were exemplary kṣatriyas—brave, truthful, scripturally aligned, and generous sacrificers—and asks why they have met such a grim destiny.