Shloka 48
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
तत्र ते दिव्यसंस्थाना दिव्यमाल्यधरा: शिवा: । प्रयान्ति पुण्यगंधाढ्या धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र वै
tatra te divyasaṁsthānā divyamālyadharāḥ śivāḥ | prayānti puṇyagandhāḍhyā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra vai ||
There, those auspicious beings—of divine form and bearing heavenly garlands, rich with sacred fragrance—depart onward. But Dhṛtarāṣṭra, indeed, does not go there.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Merit (puṇya) leads beings toward auspicious destinations, while a person burdened by moral failure and neglected duty may be excluded; the verse underscores ethical consequence and the responsibility of rulers.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra describes a scene in which auspicious, divine-form beings adorned with heavenly garlands and sacred fragrance proceed onward to a higher realm, while he states that he himself does not go there.