Shloka 3
निरय-परमस्थान-वर्णनम्
Niraya and the Supreme Station: A Metaphysical Re-reading
स्वर्ग: प्रकाश इत्याहुर्नरक॑ तम एव च । सत्यानृतं तदुभयं प्राप्पते जगतीचरै:
svargaḥ prakāśa ity āhur narakaṃ tama eva ca | satyānṛtaṃ tad ubhayaṃ prāpnoti jagatīcaraiḥ ||
婆罗多婆阇说道：“人们宣称：天界是光明，地狱唯有黑暗。然而人的境况却是‘真’与‘伪’的交杂；正因这交织之态——知识与无明相互缠结——在世间行走的有身众生，才会经历两者。”
भरद्वाज उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heaven and hell are framed as light and darkness, but human life is portrayed as a mixed field of satya (truth/clarity) and anṛta (untruth/obscurity). Because of this mixture, beings in the world encounter both knowledge and ignorance and thereby move toward experiences associated with both ‘light’ and ‘darkness’.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bharadvāja is explaining a moral-psychological mapping of realms: svarga as illumination and naraka as darkness, then qualifying it by describing the human realm as a blended condition through which worldly beings come to partake of both.