Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, Shloka 23
तेषामिदानीं के लोका द्रष्टमिच्छामि तानहम् | कर्ण चैव महात्मानं कौन्तेयं सत्यसंगरम्
teṣām idānīṃ ke lokā draṣṭum icchāmi tān aham | karṇaṃ caiva mahātmānaṃ kaunteyaṃ satyasaṅgaram ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Ngayon ay nais kong makita kung anong mga daigdig ang kanilang narating. At nais ko ring masilayan si Karṇa na dakila ang loob—anak ni Kuntī—matatag sa katotohanan at di matinag sa labanan.”
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral curiosity central to Svargārohaṇa: how posthumous realms (lokas) correspond to a person’s life, vows, and conduct. By singling out Karṇa as “great-souled” and “steadfast in truth,” it highlights that ethical worth and inner resolve may be judged beyond surface reputation and battlefield alignments.
The narrator reports a request to see the destinies (lokas) attained by the departed heroes, with special emphasis on meeting Karṇa. The speaker seeks direct vision of where they have gone, setting up the parva’s exploration of heavenly outcomes and the surprising moral reversals that follow.