Shloka 75
Sarasvatī–Tārkṣya Saṃvāda: Agnihotra-vidhi, Dāna-phala, and Mokṣa-prasaṅga (सरस्वती–तार्क्ष्यसंवादः)
क्वस्थस्तत् समुपाश्चाति सुकृतं यदि वेतरत् । इति ते दर्शनं यच्च तत्राप्यनुनयं शृणु,कुन्तीनन्दन! इस संसारमें मृत्युके पश्चात् जीवकी गति उनके अपने-अपने कर्मोंके अनुसार ही होती है। परंतु मरनेके बाद ज्ञानी और अज्ञानीकी कर्मराशि कहाँ रहती है? कहाँ रहकर वह पुण्य अथवा पापका फल भोगता है? इस दृष्टिसे जो तुमने प्रश्न किया है, उसके उत्तरमें मैं सिद्धान्त बता रहा हूँ, सुनो
kvasthaḥ tat samupāśnāti sukṛtaṁ yadi vetarat | iti te darśanaṁ yac ca tatrāpy anunayaṁ śṛṇu, kuntīnandana |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Where does one abide and experience the result—whether of merit or of its opposite? Since this is the point of view from which you have asked, listen, O son of Kuntī, to the settled conclusion even on that matter.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a doctrinal question about karmic retribution: after death, in what locus does a being experience the fruits of merit and demerit? Mārkaṇḍeya signals that he will give a siddhānta (settled conclusion) explaining how karmaphala is undergone beyond bodily life.
In the Vana Parva dialogue, Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed as Kuntīnandana) has asked about the post-mortem fate of the soul and the ‘where’ of karmic fruition. Sage Mārkaṇḍeya responds by inviting him to listen as he proceeds to explain the philosophical resolution.