Shloka 40
स्वर्गारोहणपर्व — तृतीयोऽध्यायः
Indra and Dharma’s Consolation; Celestial Gaṅgā Purification
एवमुक्त: स राजर्षिस्तव पूर्वपितामह: । जगाम सह धर्मेण सर्वैक्ष त्रिदिवालयै:
evam uktaḥ sa rājarṣis tava pūrva-pitāmahaḥ | jagāma saha dharmeṇa sarvaiś ca tridivālayaiḥ, janamejaya |
毗湿摩波耶那说道：“如此被告诫后，你的先祖——那位王中仙——便启程而行；随行者有达摩，并有天界诸神同往，哦，阇那弥阇耶。（在此刻之后的叙事中，他前往神圣的天河，沐浴其间，继而舍弃人身。）”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that steadfast dharma is not merely an abstract rule but a guiding presence: the righteous king, as a rājarṣi, moves forward in the company of Dharma itself and the heavenly order, suggesting that ethical integrity culminates in spiritual elevation and rightful passage beyond the human condition.
Vaiśampāyana narrates to Janamejaya that Yudhiṣṭhira, the listener’s forefather, having been addressed, departs accompanied by Dharma and the celestial beings. In the immediate narrative flow of this section, he proceeds to the sacred divine river, bathes, and then abandons his mortal body.