Shloka 9
Sanatsujāta-Āhvāna (Summoning Sanatsujāta) — Vidura’s Invocation and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Doubt
कर्मोदये कर्मफलानुरागा- स्तत्रानुयान्ति न तरन्ति मृत्युम् । सदर्थयोगानवगमात् समन्तात् प्रवर्तते भोगयोगेन देही,प्रारब्ध कर्मका उदय होनेपर कर्मके फलमें आसक्ति रखनेवाले लोग (देहत्यागके पश्चात) परलोकका अनुगमन करते हैं; इसीलिये वे मृत्युकी पार नहीं कर पाते। देहाभिमानी जीव परमात्मसाक्षात्कारके उपायको न जाननेसे विषयोंके उपभोगके कारण सब ओर (नाना प्रकारकी योनियोंमें) भटकता रहता है
karmodaye karmaphalānurāgās tatrānuyānti na taranti mṛtyum | sadarthayogān avagamāt samantāt pravartate bhogayogena dehī ||
Sanatsujāta says: When one’s operative karma comes to fruition, those who cling to the fruits of action follow the course of the other world after leaving the body; therefore they do not cross beyond Death. Not understanding on all sides the true discipline that leads to the highest good (realization of the Self), the embodied being—bound by identification with the body—keeps moving on through the enjoyment of sense-objects, wandering in many forms of existence.
सनत्युजात उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to the fruits of karma keeps a person within the cycle of death; only understanding and practicing the discipline aimed at the highest good (Self-realization) enables one to transcend mortality.
In Sanatsujāta’s instruction (to Dhṛtarāṣṭra in this section), he explains why beings continue to wander after death: they are driven by matured karma and by craving for results and pleasures, lacking knowledge of the liberating path.