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 dit : «Ô Sahasrākṣa (Indra), ses mondes sont pourvus de l’accomplissement de tous les désirs. Là, la mort ne peut pénétrer, ni la vieillesse ; même le feu n’y a aucun pouvoir. Ainsi est décrit ce royaume immaculé de béatitude — un état de récompense conforme au dharma, où le mérite s’achève en liberté hors de la décrépitude et du mal.»
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.