Shloka 60
Sarasvatī–Tārkṣya Saṃvāda: Agnihotra-vidhi, Dāna-phala, and Mokṣa-prasaṅga (सरस्वती–तार्क्ष्यसंवादः)
ऐहलौकिकमेवेह उताहो पारलौकिकम् | क्व च कर्माणि तिष्ठन्ति जन्तो: प्रेतस्य भार्गव,'भृगुनन्दन! कर्मोका फल इसी लोकमें प्राप्त होता है या परलोकमें? प्राणीकी मृत्यु हो जानेपर उसके कर्म कहाँ रहते हैं?
aihalaukikam eveha utāho pāralaukikam | kva ca karmāṇi tiṣṭhanti jantoḥ pretasya bhārgava, bhṛgunandana |
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Bhārgava, delight of the Bhṛgus—does the fruit of action come to a being here in this very world, or in the world beyond? And when a creature has died and become a departed spirit, where do its deeds abide?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a foundational inquiry of dharma and moral philosophy: whether karmic consequences are experienced only in this life or also after death, and how the continuity of moral causation is maintained when the body perishes.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a Bhṛgu-line sage is addressed with a probing question about the locus and timing of karmic fruition—seeking clarification on what becomes of deeds once a being has died and is termed a preta.