Shloka 66
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
शुक्ल: शुक्लाभिजातीय: साध्यो नावर्ततेडनघ । तिर्यग्गतेश्व निर्मुक्तो निरयाच्च पितामह,निष्पाप पितामह! वह शुद्ध कुलमें उत्पन्न हुआ था और स्वभावसे भी शुद्ध था। जान पड़ता है वह साध्य नामक देवता ही था; इसीलिये पुनः संसारमें नहीं लौटा। वह पशु- पक्षियोंकी योनि तथा नरकसे छुटकारा पा गया
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
śuklaḥ śuklābhijātīyaḥ sādhyo nāvartate 'nagha |
tiryaggateṣv anirmukto nirayāc ca pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O sinless Grandsire, he was ‘Śukla’—born of a pure lineage and pure by nature. It seems he was in truth a Sādhya deity; therefore he does not return again to worldly existence. He has been released from falling into animal and bird births, and from hell as well, O Grandfather.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purity of conduct and accumulated merit can lead to freedom from lower rebirths (animal/bird births) and from hellish states; exceptionally, one may be understood as having a divine status (Sādhya), implying non-return to saṃsāra.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma, reflecting on a person named Śukla: he was pure by birth and nature, and Yudhiṣṭhira infers that he was a Sādhya deity, hence he does not return to worldly existence and is freed from animal births and hell.