Shloka 86
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
ते सहस्रार्चिषं देवं प्रविशन्तीह शुश्रुम । ब्रह्म! परंतु आपने मोक्षको परम शान्ति एवं परम सुखस्वरूप बताया है। जो मुक्त होते हैं
te sahasrārciṣaṃ devaṃ praviśantīha śuśruma | brahma! paraṃ tu āpne mokṣaṃ paramaśāntiṃ evaṃ parama-sukha-svarūpaṃ vaktum ārabdhavān asi | ye muktāḥ, te puṇya-pāpa-rahitāḥ sahasra-kiraṇaiḥ prakāśamāne bhagavati nārāyaṇe deve praviśanti—iti mayā śrutam | tataḥ tiṣye ’tha samprāpte yuge kali-puraskṛte | ekapāda-sthito dharmo yatra tatra bhaviṣyati ||
Janamejaya dit : «Nous avons entendu dire que les délivrés entrent en ce Seigneur divin aux mille flammes. Ô brahmane ! Tu as décrit la délivrance (mokṣa) comme la paix suprême et comme la forme même de la béatitude la plus haute. J’ai aussi entendu que ceux qui deviennent libres — purgés du mérite comme du péché — se fondent dans le Seigneur Nārāyaṇa, rayonnant d’innombrables lueurs. Et ensuite, lorsque l’âge de Kali commencera sous l’astérisme Puṣya (Tiṣya), le Dharma ne restera debout que sur un seul pied, n’apparaissant que çà et là.»
जनमेजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is portrayed as supreme peace and bliss, where the liberated transcend both merit and sin and enter/merge into the radiant Lord Nārāyaṇa; in contrast, the onset of Kali Yuga is marked by a drastic decline of Dharma, which survives only in a diminished, sporadic form.
Janamejaya addresses a Brahmanical sage, recalling what he has heard about the destiny of the liberated (entry into the thousand-rayed Lord) and then shifts to a prophetic note about the coming of Kali Yuga under the Puṣya (Tiṣya) asterism, when righteousness will largely wane.