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 ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: Ang matuwid na hari, si Yudhiṣṭhira, ay nagpatuloy sa mismong landas na iyon—sumisingaw ang baho ng nabubulok na mga bangkay, masama ang pangitain at nakapangingilabot—habang maraming pag-iisip ang umiikot sa kanyang kalooban. Kasuklam-suklam at di-mapalad ang tanawin, ngunit nagpatuloy siya, pasan ang panloob na pagninilay sa dharma sa gitna ng bakas ng karahasan.
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.