Shloka 34
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
तथाविधानामेष लोको महर्षे विशुद्धानां भावितो वाग्यतानाम् | सत्ये स्थितानां वेदविदां महात्मनां परं गन्ता धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | tathāvidhānām eṣa loko maharṣe viśuddhānāṃ bhāvito vāgyatānām | satye sthitānāṃ vedavidāṃ mahātmanāṃ paraṃ gantā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O great seer, this realm belongs to such people—those whose inner disposition is purified, whose speech is disciplined, who stand firm in truth, and who are great-souled knowers of the Veda. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra will not attain that highest destination.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links spiritual attainment to ethical discipline: purity of intention, restraint in speech, steadfast truthfulness, and Vedic wisdom qualify one for a higher realm; lacking these, one does not reach that destination.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a seer and acknowledges that a particular exalted realm is reserved for the purified and truth-established sages, while admitting that he himself will not attain it.