Shloka 40
Suvarṇa-dāna: Kārttikeya’s Origin and the Defeat of Tāraka (सुवर्णदान-प्रसङ्गे कार्त्तिकेय-उत्पत्ति तथा तारकवधः)
तस्या लोका: सहस्राक्ष सर्वकामसमन्विता: । न तत्र क्रमते मृत्युर्न जरा न च पावक:
tasyā lokāḥ sahasrākṣa sarvakāmasamanvitāḥ | na tatra kramate mṛtyur na jarā na ca pāvakaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh Sahasrākṣa (Indra), sus mundos están dotados del cumplimiento de todo deseo. Allí la muerte no logra entrar, ni la vejez; incluso el fuego carece de poder. Así se describe ese reino inmaculado de bienaventuranza: un estado de recompensa conforme al dharma, donde el mérito culmina en libertad de la decadencia y del daño».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents an ideal reward-state attained through dharmic merit: a realm where all legitimate desires are fulfilled and the usual afflictions of embodied life—death, aging, and destructive forces like fire—cannot prevail. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethic that righteous conduct yields not only social harmony but also transcendent well-being.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma continues instructing on dharma and its fruits. Here he addresses Indra (Sahasrākṣa) while describing the extraordinary nature of a blessed realm associated with ‘her’ (contextually a revered figure/realm), emphasizing its freedom from mortality and decay.