Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
सुधारिणां धर्मधुरे महात्मनां यथोदिते वर्त्मनि सुस्थितानाम् | धर्मात्मनामुद्वहतां गति तां परं गन्ता धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
sudhāriṇāṃ dharmadhure mahātmanāṃ yathodite vartmani susthitānām | dharmātmanām udvahatāṃ gatiṃ tāṃ paraṃ gantā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra ||
Gautama sprach: „Die Großherzigen, die das Joch des Dharma gut tragen, fest gegründet auf dem Weg, wie er gelehrt wurde, und die rechtschaffene Pflichten erfüllen—sie erreichen jenes erhabene Ziel. Dhṛtarāṣṭra jedoch wird nicht in eben diesen Zustand gelangen; er wird ein Reich erreichen, das noch höher ist als dieses.“
गौतम उवाच
Steadfastly bearing the responsibilities of dharma and remaining established on the taught path leads to an exalted spiritual destination; yet Gautama indicates Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s destiny will not be identical to that group’s, but described as even higher.
Gautama is instructing/assuring Dhṛtarāṣṭra about the fruits of righteous conduct: he first praises the dharmic path and its attainments for the righteous, then distinguishes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s outcome as different—‘not there’—and points to a superior attainment for him.