Shloka 37
धर्मस्य बहुद्वारत्वम् — Nārada’s Audience with Indra (Śānti-parva 340)
तस्मात् सनत्कुमारत्वं योडलभत् स्वेन कर्मणा । यस्मिंश्न॒ सर्वभूतानि प्रलयं यान्ति संक्षयम्
tasmāt sanatkumāratvaṁ yo ’labhat svena karmaṇā | yasmiṁś ca sarvabhūtāni pralayaṁ yānti saṁkṣayam ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Darum erlangte er durch seine eigenen Taten den Zustand des Sanatkumāra — dessen, in den zur Zeit der Auflösung (pralaya) alle Wesen eingehen und zur letzten Vernichtung gelangen.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual eminence is not accidental or merely inherited; it is attained through one’s own karma (disciplined conduct). The verse also points to an ultimate principle associated with cosmic dissolution, reminding the listener of impermanence and the need to live dharmically.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma continues a doctrinal explanation, describing how a figure attained the exalted status of Sanatkumāra through personal effort, and characterizing that status/principle as the locus into which all beings merge at pralaya.