Shloka 31
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
ये क्षन्तारो नाभिजल्पन्ति चान्यान् सत्रीभूता: सततं पुण्यशीला: । तथाविधानामेष लोको महर्षे परं गन्ता धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
ye kṣantāro nābhijalpanti cānyān satrībhūtāḥ satataṃ puṇyaśīlāḥ | tathāvidhānām eṣa loko maharṣe paraṃ gantā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Ô grand sage, ceux qui sont patients, qui ne disent pas de mal d’autrui, qui sont devenus, pour ainsi dire, un annasatra perpétuel—une offrande publique de nourriture—et qui demeurent sans cesse établis dans le mérite : ce monde (le monde de Soma) est fait pour eux. Mais Dhṛtarāṣṭra n’ira pas là.»
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises a cluster of dharmic virtues—patience/forbearance (kṣamā), refusal to malign others, and sustained generosity symbolized by being a living annasatra—and states that such conduct leads to a higher heavenly realm (Somaloka). It also implies that lacking these virtues obstructs that attainment.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a sage (maharṣi), describing the kind of people for whom the Soma-world is intended—those who are forgiving, refrain from speaking ill, and continually sustain others through charity—and then remarks that he himself (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) will not reach that realm.