Shloka 51
देवतापितृप्रश्नः — Nārada at Badarīāśrama: the ultimate referent of daiva and pitṛ worship
यदेव कर्म केवल पुरा कृतं शुभाशुभम् । तदेव पुत्र सार्थिकं भवत्यमुत्र गच्छत:,पुत्र! परलोकमें जाते समय अपना पहलेका किया हुआ जो शुभाशुभ कर्म होता है, केवल वही साथ रहता है
yad eva karma kevalaṁ purā kṛtaṁ śubhāśubham | tad eva putra sārthikaṁ bhavaty amutra gacchataḥ ||
Vyāsa said: “My son, when one departs for the other world, only one’s own past deeds—whether auspicious or inauspicious—truly accompany and prove effective there. Nothing else goes with a person; it is karma alone that bears fruit beyond death.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person’s own past actions—good or bad—alone accompany them after death and determine their experience in the other world; external supports like wealth, status, or relations do not.
Vyāsa addresses his son (or a disciple-like addressee) with a moral instruction in the Śānti Parva, emphasizing the inevitability of karmic consequence at the time of departing to the next world.