Shloka 51
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
स तीव्रगन्धसंतप्तो देवदूतमुवाच ह । गम्यतां तत्र येषां त्वं दूतस्तेषामुपान्तिकम्
sa tīvra-gandha-santapto deva-dūtam uvāca ha | gamyatāṃ tatra yeṣāṃ tvaṃ dūtas teṣām upāntikam |
स तीव्रगन्धसंतप्तो देवदूतमुवाच ह। गम्यतां तत्र येषां त्वं दूतस्तेषामुपान्तिकम्॥ अहं न गमिष्यामि; अत्रैव स्थास्यामि। एतद् ब्रूहि स्वामिभ्यः—मम सन्निधानेऽत्र दुःखिताः स्वजनाः किञ्चित् सुखं लभन्ते।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Compassion and solidarity can outweigh personal comfort: the hero chooses to remain with suffering kin so that his presence eases their pain, embodying dharma as empathetic responsibility rather than self-serving reward.
Overwhelmed by a dreadful stench in the infernal region, he tells the divine messenger to return to the gods and report that he will not proceed; he resolves to stay where his distressed brothers and relatives are, because they gain relief from his nearness.