Shloka 35
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
गौतम उवाच ततो<परे भान्ति लोका: सनातना: सुपुण्यगंधा विरजा विशोका: । वरुणस्य राज्ञ: सदने महात्मन- स्तत्र त्वाहं हस्तिनं यातयिष्ये
gautama uvāca | tato 'pare bhānti lokāḥ sanātanāḥ supuṇyagandhā virajā viśokāḥ | varuṇasya rājñaḥ sadane mahātmanaḥ tatra tvāhaṃ hastinaṃ yātayiṣye ||
Gautama sprach: „Jenseits davon leuchten noch andere ewige Welten hervor—durchdrungen vom Duft großen Verdienstes, frei vom Staub der Leidenschaft und frei von Kummer. In der Wohnstatt des großherzigen Königs Varuṇa gibt es solche Bereiche. Dorthin gehend werde ich bewirken, dass du mir meinen Elefanten zurückgibst.“
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links moral purity with the quality of one’s realm of experience: worlds characterized by merit are described as ‘fragrant,’ free from rajas (stain/passion) and sorrow. It also implies that ethical order is enforceable—wrongful possession must be rectified, even by invoking higher authority and sacred realms.
Gautama describes radiant, eternal realms associated with Varuṇa and declares his intent to go there and compel the return of his elephant—framing the recovery as an act grounded in cosmic order and rightful restitution.