Shloka 29
Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Renunciation, Austerities, Departure, and the Glory of Hearing His History
मैत्रेय उवाच स्तुवतीष्वमरस्त्रीषु पतिलोकं गता वधू: । यं वा आत्मविदां धुर्यो वैन्य: प्रापाच्युताश्रय: ॥ २९ ॥
maitreya uvāca stuvatīṣv amara-strīṣu pati-lokaṁ gatā vadhūḥ yaṁ vā ātma-vidāṁ dhuryo vainyaḥ prāpācyutāśrayaḥ
Maitreya said: O Vidura, as the wives of the heavenly denizens were thus praising one another, Queen Arci reached the realm of her husband—the realm attained by Vainya Prthu, foremost among the self-realized, who had taken shelter of Acyuta.
According to Vedic scriptures, a woman who dies with her husband, or enters into the fire in which her husband is burning, also enters the same planet her husband attains. In this material world there is a planet known as Patiloka, just as there is a planet known as Pitṛloka. But in this verse the word pati-loka does not refer to any planet within this material universe, for Pṛthu Mahārāja, being topmost amongst self-realized souls, certainly returned home, back to Godhead, and attained one of the Vaikuṇṭha planets. Queen Arci also entered Patiloka, but this planet is not in the material universe, for she actually entered the planet which her husband attained. In the material world also, when a woman dies with her husband, she again unites with him in the next birth. Similarly, Mahārāja Pṛthu and Queen Arci united in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets there are husbands and wives, but there is no question of their giving birth to children or having sex life. In the Vaikuṇṭha planets both husbands and wives are extraordinarily beautiful, and they are attracted to one another, but they do not enjoy sex life. Indeed, they consider sex not to be very relishable because both husband and wife are always absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and in glorifying and chanting the glories of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse states that King Pṛthu attained the supreme destination because he took shelter of Acyuta, showing that surrender and devotion to the infallible Lord is the direct path to the highest liberation.
The speaker is Maitreya Ṛṣi, narrating King Pṛthu’s departure and the spiritual success of both Pṛthu and his queen.
Practice steady devotion—remembering the Lord, offering prayers, and aligning daily duties with dharma—so that life’s goals culminate in spiritual realization rather than temporary achievements.