Shloka 37
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
अवश्यं नरकास्तात द्रष्टव्या: सर्वराजभि: । ततस्त्वया प्राप्तमिदं मुहूर्त दुःखमुत्तमम्,“तात! समस्त राजाओंको नरकका दर्शन अवश्य करना पड़ता है; इसलिये तुमने दो घड़ीतक यह महान् दु:ख प्राप्त किया है
avaśyaṃ narakās tāta draṣṭavyāḥ sarvarājabhiḥ | tatas tvayā prāptam idaṃ muhūrta-duḥkham uttamam ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Hỡi con trẻ, mọi bậc quân vương đều tất phải nhìn thấy các địa ngục. Vì thế, ngươi chỉ chịu nỗi thống khổ tột bậc này trong một khoảnh khắc ngắn ngủi mà thôi.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the most righteous rulers are not exempt from confronting the consequences and moral weight of worldly rule; a brief, intense suffering can function as an inevitable reckoning and purification before higher attainment.
The narrator explains that the protagonist’s momentary experience of hell is not an anomaly but a rule that applies to all kings; it is presented as a short-lived yet severe ordeal that must be passed through.