Shloka 43
स देवलोके विहरत्यभीक्षणं ततकश्ष्युतो मानुषतामुपैति । संहारविक्षेपशतानि चाष्टौ मर्त्येषु तिष्ठत्यमृतत्वमेति,“वह जीव निरन्तर देवलोकमें विहार करता है और वहाँसे भ्रष्ट होनेपर मनुष्ययोनिको प्राप्त होता है। मर्त्पलोकमें वह आठ सौ कल्पोंतक बारंबार जन्म लेता रहता है। तत्पश्चात् शुभकर्म करके वह पुनः देवभावको प्राप्त करता है (यह आवागमनका चक्र तभीतक चलता है, जबतक जीवको परमज्ञान या अनन्य भक्तिकी प्राप्ति नहीं हो जाती, उसकी प्राप्ति होनेपर तो वह मुक्त या परमात्माको प्राप्त हो जाता है।)
sa devaloke viharaty abhīkṣṇaṃ tataḥ kaścyuto mānuṣatām upaiti | saṃhāra-vikṣepa-śatāni cāṣṭau martyeṣu tiṣṭhaty amṛtatvam eti ||
Bhishma said: He dwells again and again in the world of the gods; and when he falls from there, he enters human existence. In the mortal realm he remains through eight hundred cycles of dissolution and re-projection, taking birth repeatedly; thereafter, through auspicious action, he attains the divine state once more—until the round of coming and going is ended by the attainment of highest knowledge (or single-minded devotion), by which one reaches liberation.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heavenly enjoyment is not final: beings rise to devaloka by merit, fall again into human birth when that merit is exhausted, and continue through vast cosmic cycles. The only true end of this repeated movement is liberation, attained through highest knowledge or unwavering devotion.
In Bhishma’s instruction in the Shanti Parva, he describes the post-mortem trajectory of a being: repeated residence in devaloka, a fall into human existence, long continuation through cycles of dissolution and re-manifestation with repeated births, and a return to divine status through auspicious deeds—until moksha ends the cycle.