Mahabharata — Svargarohana Parva, Shloka 153

स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः

Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification

Devanagari script

व्याजेनैव ततो राजन्‌ दर्शितो नरकस्तव । “नरेश्वर! मैंने तुम्हारे कल्याणकी इच्छासे तुम्हें पहले ही इस प्रकार नरकका दर्शन करानेके लिये यहाँ भेज दिया है। राजन! तुमने गुरुपुत्र अश्वत्थामाके विषयमें छलसे काम लेकर द्रोणाचार्यको उनके पुत्रकी मृत्युका विश्वास दिलाया था

Transliteration

vyājenāiva tato rājan darśito narakas tava |

Translation

毗舍摩波耶那说：“大王啊，你所见之地狱，不过是以权谋之计示现于你。因为你昔日曾在德罗那之子阿湿婆他摩一事上施用诡计，以诈术使德罗那阿阇梨信其子已死；因此，你也同样因诈而被迫目睹地狱。”

Word by Word

• {'vyājena': 'by a pretext

• through a stratagem', 'eva': 'indeed

• precisely', 'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'darśitaḥ': 'was shown

• was made to see', 'narakaḥ': 'hell

• infernal realm (as a moral consequence/vision)', 'tava': 'your'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Naraka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores moral reciprocity: deception used even for a perceived higher end can return as a corresponding experience. Ethical lapses—especially involving truth—carry consequences that mirror the act, reinforcing accountability within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Svargarohana episode, Yudhiṣṭhira is made to witness hell. Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that this vision is itself a deliberate ruse, paralleling Yudhiṣṭhira’s earlier use of a stratagem connected with Aśvatthāmā that led Droṇa to accept his son’s death.