Shloka 14

Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant

Devanagari script

गौतम उवाच यत्र प्रेतो नंदति पुण्यकर्मा यत्र प्रेत: शोचते पापकर्मा । वैवस्वतस्य सदने महात्मं- स्तत्र त्वाहं हस्तिनं यातयिष्ये

Transliteration

gautama uvāca | yatra preto nandati puṇyakarmā yatra pretaḥ śocati pāpakarmā | vaivasvatasya sadane mahātmans tatra tvāhaṃ hastinaṃ yātayiṣye ||

Translation

Gautama said: “O great-souled one, I shall compel that elephant to be returned from that very abode of Vaivasvata (Yama)—the realm where a departed person who has performed meritorious deeds rejoices, and where a departed person who has committed sinful deeds sinks into grief.”

Word by Word

• {'gautama uvāca': 'Gautama said', 'yatra': 'where', 'pretaḥ / pretaḥ': 'the departed spirit

• one who has died', 'nandati': 'rejoices, delights', 'puṇya-karmā': 'one whose actions are meritorious

• doer of virtuous deeds', 'śocati': 'grieves, laments', 'pāpa-karmā': 'one whose actions are sinful

• doer of evil deeds', 'vaivasvatasya': 'of Vaivasvata (Yama), the Lord of Death', 'sadane': 'in the abode, dwelling, realm', 'mahātman': 'O great-souled one (vocative)', 'tatra': 'there, in that place', 'tvā': 'from you / for you (contextually addressing the other person)', 'aham': 'I', 'hastinam': 'the elephant', 'yātayiṣye': 'I shall cause to be brought back

Speaker

गौतम उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Gautama
• Vaivasvata (Yama)
• Yama-loka (implied by 'vaivasvatasya sadana')
• Elephant (hastin)
• Preta (departed being)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores karmic moral causality: after death, virtuous action leads to joy and sinful action leads to sorrow in Yama’s realm, affirming ethical accountability beyond this life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gautama declares his resolve to go even to Yama’s abode—where the dead experience the fruits of their deeds—and there compel the return of the elephant, emphasizing the seriousness of the matter and his spiritual authority.