Shloka 153

स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः

Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification

Devanagari script

व्याजेनैव ततो राजन्‌ दर्शितो नरकस्तव । “नरेश्वर! मैंने तुम्हारे कल्याणकी इच्छासे तुम्हें पहले ही इस प्रकार नरकका दर्शन करानेके लिये यहाँ भेज दिया है। राजन! तुमने गुरुपुत्र अश्वत्थामाके विषयमें छलसे काम लेकर द्रोणाचार्यको उनके पुत्रकी मृत्युका विश्वास दिलाया था

Transliteration

vyājenāiva tato rājan darśito narakas tava |

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच—राजन्, व्याजेनैव तव नरकः प्रदर्शितः। यथा त्वं द्रोणाचार्यं गुरुपुत्रेऽश्वत्थामनि विषयं कृत्वा छलोपायेन तस्य मृत्युविश्वासं कारितवान्, तथैव त्वमपि छलोपायेन नरकं दर्शितवान्।

Word by Word

• {'vyājena': 'by a pretext

• through a stratagem', 'eva': 'indeed

• precisely', 'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'darśitaḥ': 'was shown

• was made to see', 'narakaḥ': 'hell

• infernal realm (as a moral consequence/vision)', 'tava': 'your'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Naraka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores moral reciprocity: deception used even for a perceived higher end can return as a corresponding experience. Ethical lapses—especially involving truth—carry consequences that mirror the act, reinforcing accountability within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Svargarohana episode, Yudhiṣṭhira is made to witness hell. Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that this vision is itself a deliberate ruse, paralleling Yudhiṣṭhira’s earlier use of a stratagem connected with Aśvatthāmā that led Droṇa to accept his son’s death.