Shloka 16
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
यमो राजा वैश्रवण: कुबेरो गन्धर्वयक्षाप्सरसश्व सूत । ब्रह्मविद्यां ब्रह्मचर्य क्रियां च निषेवमाणा ऋषयोअमुत्र भान्ति,सूत! यमराज, विश्रवाके पुत्र कुबेर, गन्धर्व, यक्ष तथा अप्सराएँ भी अपने-अपने कर्मोंके प्रभावसे ही स्वर्गमें विराजमान हैं। ब्रह्मज्ञान तथा ब्रह्मचर्यकर्मका सेवन करनेवाले महर्षि भी कर्मबलसे ही परलोकमें प्रकाशमान हो रहे हैं
yamo rājā vaiśravaṇaḥ kuberaḥ gandharva-yakṣāpsarasaś ca sūta | brahma-vidyāṁ brahma-carya-kriyāṁ ca niṣevamāṇā ṛṣayo 'mutra bhānti, sūta ||
Vāyu said: “O Sūta, King Yama, Vaiśravaṇa Kubera, and also the Gandharvas, Yakṣas, and Apsarases shine in heaven by the power of their own deeds. Likewise, the great seers who devote themselves to Brahma-knowledge, to the discipline of brahmacarya, and to sacred observances are radiant in the other world through the strength of their practiced karma.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes karma-phala: beings—whether divine officials like Yama and Kubera or celestial classes like Gandharvas and Apsarases—attain their heavenly radiance through the force of their own deeds; similarly, sages become luminous in the next world through sustained practice of Brahma-knowledge, brahmacarya, and religious observances.
Vāyudeva addresses Sūta and illustrates, by listing well-known heavenly figures and sages, that status and splendor in the other world are grounded in one’s performed duties and disciplines, not merely in birth or title.