Shloka 15
Adhyāya 32: Tāpasānāṃ Darśanaṃ — Ascetics Seek to Identify the Pāṇḍavas
केचिच्च वारुणं लोक॑ केचित् कौबेरमाप्रुवन् | ततो वैवस्वतं लोकं केचिच्चैवाप्रुवन्नपा:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: kecic ca Vāruṇaṃ lokaṃ kecit Kauberam āpruvan | tato Vaivasvataṃ lokaṃ kecic caivāpruvann apāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Some departed to Varuṇa’s realm, some attained Kubera’s realm; and thereafter some reached the realm of Vaivasvata (Yama). Thus, as the kings’ earthly course ended, they passed on according to their karmic deserts to diverse divine abodes.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores karmic plurality: beings do not all reach a single posthumous destination; rather, their conduct and accumulated merit/demerit lead them to different realms governed by cosmic deities (Varuṇa, Kubera, Yama).
In the aftermath of the great events and the passing of many rulers, the narrator describes how various kings depart from the human world and attain different divine or otherworldly realms—some to Varuṇa’s, some to Kubera’s, and some to Vaivasvata (Yama).