Shloka 21
Phala of Vrata, Niyama, Svādhyāya, Dama, Satya, Brahmacarya, and Service (व्रत-नियम-स्वाध्याय-दम-सत्य-ब्रह्मचर्य-शुश्रूषा-फलप्रश्नः)
यान॑ समारोप्य तु मां स देवो वाहैर्युक्त सुप्रभं भानुमत् तत् । संदर्शयामास तदात्मलोकान् सर्वास्तथा पुण्यकृतां द्विजेन्द्र
yānaṁ samāropya tu māṁ sa devo vāhair yuktaṁ suprabhaṁ bhānumat tat | saṁdarśayāmāsa tadātmalokān sarvāṁs tathā puṇyakṛtāṁ dvijendra ||
Bhīṣma dit : «M’ayant fait asseoir sur ce char rayonnant, éclatant comme le soleil et attelé de ses coursiers, le dieu Yama me fit voir tous ces mondes qui lui appartiennent — les royaumes atteints par ceux qui ont accompli des actes méritoires — ô le meilleur des deux-fois-nés.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Meritorious action (puṇya) has definite results: it leads to specific higher realms, and the moral order administered by Yama/Dharmarāja is portrayed as structured and knowable.
Bhīṣma recounts a vision-like episode in which Yama seats him on a brilliantly shining, harnessed chariot and shows him Yama’s own realms—worlds attained by virtuous, merit-performing beings.