Shloka 26
भारतवर्षमहात्म्यम् — कर्मभूमित्वम्, नवभेदाः, कुलपर्वताः-नद्यः-जनपदाः, युगचक्रविशेषः, यज्ञपुरुषविष्णुपूजा
जानीम नैतत् क्व वयं विलीने स्वर्गप्रदे कर्मणि देहबन्धम् प्राप्स्याम धन्याः खलु ते मनुष्या ये भारते नेन्द्रियविप्रहीनाः
jānīma naitat kva vayaṃ vilīne svargaprade karmaṇi dehabandham prāpsyāma dhanyāḥ khalu te manuṣyā ye bhārate nendriyaviprahīnāḥ
Wir wissen nicht, wohin wir gehen, wenn wir im Tod vergehen, noch wann — nachdem das Verdienst, das den Himmel schenkt, erschöpft ist — wir wieder die Fessel eines Körpers erlangen. Wahrlich gesegnet sind die Menschen, die in Bhārata nicht ihrer Sinne beraubt sind; ein solches Leben ist selten, und die Gelegenheit entgleitet schnell.
Sage Parāśara (in instruction to Maitreya, within the Vishnu Purana’s didactic narrative)
FAQs
This verse highlights Bhārata as the uniquely fortunate realm where humans, with unimpaired faculties, can pursue dharma and liberation—an opportunity not guaranteed after heavenly merit is spent.
He teaches that even “svarga-giving” karma is finite; once its results are exhausted, one returns to embodied existence, but the time, place, and conditions of that rebirth are unknown.
By stressing the rarity of a capable human life within karmic cycles, the Purana implicitly urges devotion and righteous living oriented toward Vishnu as the supreme refuge beyond samsāra.