Shloka 31
Adhyātma–Adhibhūta–Adhidaivata Correspondences and the Triguṇa Lakṣaṇas (Śānti-parva 301)
गतिं चाप्यशुभां ज्ञात्वा नूपते पापकर्मिणाम् | वैतरण्यां च यद् दुःखं पतितानां यमक्षये
gatiṁ cāpy aśubhāṁ jñātvā nṛpate pāpakarmiṇām | vaitaraṇyāṁ ca yad duḥkhaṁ patitānāṁ yamakṣaye pṛthvīnātha |
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，既已明了作恶之人所将遭遇的不祥归宿，也知晓堕落众生在阎摩之界所受的苦楚——尤其是坠入毗多罗尼河所受的酷刑——人便应当警醒，自慎其行。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma urges the king to recognize that sinful actions lead to an inauspicious post-mortem fate, vividly symbolized by suffering in Yama’s realm and the Vaitaraṇī; awareness of consequences should motivate ethical self-restraint and dharmic conduct.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction to the ruler, Bhishma continues a moral discourse: he points to the grim destiny of wrongdoers and invokes Yama’s domain and the Vaitaraṇī river as images of punitive suffering, strengthening his counsel on righteous governance and personal conduct.