Shloka 21
Taḍāga-Phala and Vṛkṣāropaṇa
Merit of Ponds and Tree-Planting
सो<पि लोकानवाप्रोति दैवतैरभिपूजितान् । गोलोके स मुदा युक्तो वसति प्रेत्य भारत
so 'pi lokān avāpnoti daivatair abhipūjitān | goloke sa mudā yukto vasati pretya bhārata ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Auch er erlangt jene Welten, die von den Göttern geehrt und verehrt werden. Nach dem Tod, o Bharata, weilt er in Goloka, mit Freude vereint.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that righteous or meritorious conduct (as described in the surrounding passage) yields exalted post-mortem results: one attains divine-honored realms and, after death, lives in a state of joy in Goloka—emphasizing the ethical principle that dharma bears fruit beyond this life.
Bhishma, instructing Yudhiṣṭhira in Anuśāsana Parva, concludes a promise of spiritual reward: the person under discussion ‘also’ reaches revered heavenly worlds and, upon death, resides joyfully in Goloka, a celestial realm.