Shloka 37
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
कृष्णस्य वर्णस्य गतिर्निकृष्टा स सज्जते नरके पच्यमान: । स्थानं तथा दुर्गतिभिस्तु तस्य प्रजाविसर्गान् सुबहून् वदन्ति,“कृष्णवर्णकी गति नीच बतायी गयी है। वह नरक प्रदान करनेवाले निषिद्ध कर्मोमें आसक्त होता है, इसीलिये नरककी आगमें पकाया जाता है। वह कुमार्ममें प्रवृत्त हुए पूर्वोक्त चौदह करणोंद्वारा पापाचार करनेके कारण अनेक कल्पोंतक नरकमें ही निवास करता है-- ऐसा ऋषि-मुनि कहते हैं
kṛṣṇasya varṇasya gatir nikṛṣṭā sa sajjate narake pacyamānaḥ | sthānaṃ tathā durgatibhis tu tasya prajāvisargān subahūn vadanti ||
Bhīṣma said: “The destiny of one in the ‘dark’ state is described as degraded. Becoming attached to forbidden deeds that lead to hell, he is cooked in the fires of hell. Sages declare that his abode is among those who meet evil ends, and that he remains there through many cycles of creation—because, driven by wrongful conduct, he repeatedly commits sin.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to prohibited, unethical actions (niṣiddha-karma) leads to a degraded destiny and prolonged suffering in hell; one’s conduct, not mere identity, determines one’s post-mortem course.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during Śānti Parva, he describes the karmic outcome of a person who repeatedly engages in forbidden deeds: sages are cited as authorities who state that such a person is tormented in naraka for many cycles of creation.