Shloka 11
मनस्–बुद्धि–गुणविचारः (Manas–Buddhi–Guṇa Inquiry) — Meditation and Nirguṇa Realization
एते ते निरया: प्रोक्ता: सर्व एव यथातथम् | तस्य स्थानवरस्येह सर्वे निरयसंज्ञिता:
ete te nirayāḥ proktāḥ sarva eva yathātatham | tasya sthānavarasyeha sarve nirayasaṃjñitāḥ, rājan |
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，如是我已如实为你宣说这一切地狱。然而，大王，与那至上最胜之境相比，此间诸界，实皆堪称‘地狱’。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma frames the discussion of hells within a higher ethical-spiritual horizon: however terrifying the punishments of naraka may be, any condition that falls short of the supreme state is, by comparison, a form of suffering—hence ‘hell-like’. The verse redirects attention from fear-based morality to the pursuit of the highest good.
In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma is instructing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) on dharma and the consequences of actions. After enumerating various hells, he concludes by relativizing them: measured against the ‘best abode’ (the highest state), all other realms can be called ‘hell’ in a comparative sense.