Shloka 39
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
“नरेश्वर! सव्यसाची अर्जुन, भीमसेन, पुरुषप्रवर नकुल-सहदेव अथवा सत्यवादी शूरवीर कर्ण--इनमेंसे कोई भी चिरकालतक नरकमें रहनेके योग्य नहीं है ।।
vaiśampāyana uvāca: nareśvara! savyasācī arjunaḥ, bhīmasenaḥ, puruṣapravaraḥ nakula-sahadevau athavā satyavādī śūravīraḥ karṇaḥ—eṣāṃ madhye kaścid api cirakālaṃ narake vāsa-yogyo na bhavati. na kṛṣṇā rājaputrī ca narakārhā kathaṃcana. ehi hi bharataśreṣṭha, paśya gaṅgāṃ trilokagām.
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Tâu Đại vương! Dù là Arjuna thiện xạ (Savyasācī), hay Bhīmasena, hay Nakula và Sahadeva—những bậc trượng phu hàng đầu—hay cả Karṇa, dũng sĩ chân ngôn; trong số ấy không ai đáng ở địa ngục lâu dài. Và Kṛṣṇā, công chúa, cũng tuyệt nhiên không đáng chịu địa ngục. Hãy đến, hỡi bậc ưu tú của dòng Bharata; hãy ngắm sông Gaṅgā, dòng sông có lộ trình vươn tới ba cõi.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when great figures undergo brief post-war moral reckoning, the epic insists on proportional justice: fundamentally dharmic persons (and those with major virtues like truthfulness and heroism) are not destined for prolonged hell. The mention of Gaṅgā signals purification and a transition from punitive vision to restoration and higher passage.
Vaiśampāyana reassures the addressed king (Janamejaya in the frame narrative) that the principal heroes—Arjuna, Bhīma, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Karṇa—and also Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) are not truly hell-bound for long. He then invites him to behold the Gaṅgā, indicating a shift toward a purifying, world-transcending vision within the Svargarohana (ascent to heaven) sequence.