Shloka 52
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
न हाहं तत्र यास्यामि स्थितो<5स्मीति निवेद्यताम् | मत्संश्रयादिमे दूता: सुखिनो भ्रातरो हि मे
na hāhaṃ tatra yāsyāmi sthito ’smīti nivedyatām | matsaṃśrayād ime dūtāḥ sukhino bhrātaro hi me ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Hindi—hindi ako pupunta roon. Ibalita na napagpasyahan kong manatili rito. Sapagkat sa pagkanlong nila sa aking piling, ang aking mga kapatid—bagaman pinahihirapan—ay nakakamtan ang kaunting ginhawa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights compassion as a higher ethical commitment than personal gain: the speaker chooses to remain with suffering ‘brothers’ because his presence gives them relief, prioritizing solidarity and responsibility over a promised better state elsewhere.
In Svargarohana, a messenger urges the protagonist toward a higher destination, but he refuses and asks the messenger to report that he will stay where he is, because those around him—whom he calls his brothers—derive comfort from his proximity.