Shloka 16
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
यमो राजा वैश्रवण: कुबेरो गन्धर्वयक्षाप्सरसश्व सूत । ब्रह्मविद्यां ब्रह्मचर्य क्रियां च निषेवमाणा ऋषयोअमुत्र भान्ति
yamo rājā vaiśravaṇaḥ kuberaḥ gandharva-yakṣāpsarasaś ca sūta | brahma-vidyāṁ brahma-carya-kriyāṁ ca niṣevamāṇā ṛṣayo 'mutra bhānti, sūta ||
Vāyu sprach: „O Sūta, König Yama, Vaiśravaṇa Kubera und auch Gandharvas, Yakṣas und Apsaras leuchten im Himmel durch die Kraft ihrer eigenen Taten. Ebenso strahlen die großen ṛṣis, die sich der Brahman-Erkenntnis, der Disziplin des Brahmacarya und heiligen Observanzen widmen, in der jenseitigen Welt durch die Stärke des geübten Karma.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes karma-phala: beings—whether divine officials like Yama and Kubera or celestial classes like Gandharvas and Apsarases—attain their heavenly radiance through the force of their own deeds; similarly, sages become luminous in the next world through sustained practice of Brahma-knowledge, brahmacarya, and religious observances.
Vāyudeva addresses Sūta and illustrates, by listing well-known heavenly figures and sages, that status and splendor in the other world are grounded in one’s performed duties and disciplines, not merely in birth or title.