Shloka 94
Sarasvatī–Tārkṣya Saṃvāda: Agnihotra-vidhi, Dāna-phala, and Mokṣa-prasaṅga (सरस्वती–तार्क्ष्यसंवादः)
कृत्वैव कर्माणि महान्ति शूरा- स्तपोदमाचारविहारशीला: । देवानृषीन् प्रेतगणांश्व॒ सर्वान् संतर्पयित्वा विधिना परेण,तुम सभी शूर-वीर तथा तपस्या, इन्द्रियसंयम और उत्तम आचार-व्यवहारमें सदा ही तत्पर रहनेवाले हो। अतः (इस संसारमें बड़े-बड़े महत्त्वपूर्ण कार्य करके) देवताओं, ऋषियों और समस्त पितरोंको उत्तम विधिसे तृप्त करोगे। तत्पश्चात् अपने सत्कर्मोंके फलस्वरूप तुम सब लोग क्रमसे पुण्यात्माओंके निवास स्थान परम स्वर्गलोकको चले जाओगे। इसीलिये कौरवराज! तुम (अपने वर्तमान कष्टको देखकर) मनमें किसी प्रकारकी शंकाको स्थान न दो। यह क्लेश तो तुम्हारे भावी सुखका ही सूचक है
kṛtvaiva karmāṇi mahānti śūrās tapodamācāravihāraśīlāḥ | devān ṛṣīn pretagaṇāṁś ca sarvān saṁtarpayitvā vidhinā pareṇa ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Having accomplished great deeds, you heroic men—ever devoted to austerity, self-restraint, and noble conduct—will duly satisfy the gods, the seers, and all the hosts of the departed with the highest prescribed rites. Thereafter, as the fruit of your righteous actions, you will in due course attain the supreme heaven, the abode of the virtuous. Therefore, O king of the Kurus, do not allow any doubt to arise in your mind on seeing your present hardship; this suffering is but a sign pointing toward your future happiness.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfast dharma—expressed as great deeds, austerity, self-restraint, and proper conduct—leads to the satisfaction of gods, sages, and ancestors through prescribed rites, and ultimately yields meritorious reward (svarga). Present suffering should not generate doubt; it can be a precursor to future well-being when one remains righteous.
Mārkaṇḍeya consoles the Kuru king (Yudhiṣṭhira) during the Pāṇḍavas’ forest hardship, predicting that their disciplined life and righteous actions will culminate in duly performed obligations toward divine and ancestral beings and will bring them, in time, to the highest heavenly state—thereby urging him to abandon anxiety and doubt.