Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 18
Plakṣaprasravaṇa–Kārapacana tīrtha-varṇana and Nārada’s war briefing (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 53)
देहत्यागेन ते सर्वे यास्यन्ति ब्रह्मण: क्षयम् भूतलका कोई भी स्थान इससे बढ़कर पुण्यदायक नहीं होगा। जो मनुष्य यहाँ रहकर बड़ी भारी तपस्या करेंगे, वे सब लोग देहत्यागके पश्चात् ब्रह्मलोकमें जायँगे ।।
dehatyāgena te sarve yāsyanti brahmaṇaḥ kṣayam | bhūtalakā na kaścid api sthānam asmād adhikaṃ puṇyadāyakaṃ bhaviṣyati | ye manuṣyā iha sthitvā mahāntam tapas cariṣyanti te sarve dehatyāgāt paraṃ brahmaloke yāsyanti || ye punaḥ puṇyabhājo vai dānaṃ dāsyanti mānavāḥ |
Rāma dijo: «Al abandonar el cuerpo, todos ellos alcanzarán la morada imperecedera de Brahman. En esta tierra no habrá lugar más santificador que éste. Quienes permanezcan aquí y emprendan grandes austeridades, tras la muerte irán al mundo de Brahmā. Y, además, aquellos hombres dignos de mérito darán, en verdad, dones en caridad.»
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates a particular sacred place as uniquely merit-giving: disciplined austerity performed there and a life oriented to charity lead to a superior post-mortem destiny—attainment of Brahmaloka/imperishable spiritual state—thus linking place, practice (tapas), and ethical action (dāna) within dharma.
Rāma is describing the extraordinary sanctity of a location, declaring that no other earthly site surpasses it in conferring merit. He explains that those who stay there and perform intense austerities will, upon death, reach Brahmaloka, and he further notes that meritorious people will engage in acts of giving there.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.