Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
गौतम उवाच ततो<परे भान्ति लोका: सनातना विरजसो वितमस्का विशोका: । आदित्यदेवस्य पदं महात्मन- स्तत्र त्वाहं हस्तिनं यातयिष्ये
gautama uvāca tato 'pare bhānti lokāḥ sanātanā virajasō vitamaskā viśokāḥ | ādityadevasya padaṃ mahātmanaḥ tatra tvāhaṃ hastinaṃ yātayiṣye ||
Gautama dit : «Au-delà de cela brillent les mondes éternels—sans poussière ni passion, sans ténèbres et sans chagrin. Là se trouve la demeure du grand-âme, le dieu Soleil ; vers ce royaume je te conduirai, ô éléphant.»
गौतम उवाच
The verse points to higher, sorrowless realms characterized by freedom from rajas (passionate impurity) and tamas (darkness/ignorance), implying that purification and right guidance can lead a being toward a divine, luminous state associated here with the Sun-god’s abode.
Gautama describes the existence of eternal, radiant worlds beyond the present condition and promises to lead the elephant to the station of Āditya, indicating the sage’s compassionate intervention and the elephant’s destined passage to a higher realm.