Shloka 133

Varṇa-dharma and Rājadharma: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Normative Outline (वर्णधर्म-राजधर्म-प्रश्नोत्तरम्)

Devanagari script

सुकृतस्य क्षयाच्चैव स्वलोकादेत्य मेदिनीम्‌

Transliteration

sukṛtasya kṣayāc caiva svalokād etya medinīm

Translation

Bhīṣma sprach: „Wenn das Verdienst guter Taten erschöpft ist, verlässt man die eigene Himmelswelt und kehrt wieder zur Erde zurück.“

Word by Word

• सुकृतस्य: of (one's) merit / good deed
• सुकृतस्य: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुकृत
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• क्षयात्: from the exhaustion/decay
• क्षयात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• स्वलोकात्: from one's own world (heavenly realm)
• स्वलोकात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्वलोक
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• एत्य: having come/returned
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ (एति)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• मेदिनीम्: the earth
• मेदिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• svaloka (one’s own heavenly realm)
• medinī (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Heavenly enjoyment gained through merit is not permanent; when puṇya is used up, the being must return to earthly existence. The verse underscores the ethical need for deeper, lasting spiritual attainment beyond merely accumulating merit.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he explains the karmic mechanism of post-death destinations: ascent to a personal realm through good deeds, followed by an inevitable return to earth once that merit is exhausted.