Shloka 37
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
सुधारिणां धर्मधुरे महात्मनां यथोदिते वर्त्मनि सुस्थितानाम् | धर्मात्मनामुद्वहतां गति तां परं गन्ता धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
sudhāriṇāṃ dharmadhure mahātmanāṃ yathodite vartmani susthitānām | dharmātmanām udvahatāṃ gatiṃ tāṃ paraṃ gantā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra ||
Gautama berkata: “Mereka yang berhati agung, yang memikul kuk dharma dengan baik, teguh di jalan sebagaimana diajarkan, dan menunaikan kewajiban-kewajiban benar—merekalah yang mencapai tujuan tertinggi itu. Namun Dhṛtarāṣṭra tidak akan pergi ke keadaan yang sama; ia akan meraih alam yang lebih tinggi daripada itu.”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steadfastly bearing the responsibilities of dharma and remaining established on the taught path leads to an exalted spiritual destination; yet Gautama indicates Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s destiny will not be identical to that group’s, but described as even higher.
Gautama is instructing/assuring Dhṛtarāṣṭra about the fruits of righteous conduct: he first praises the dharmic path and its attainments for the righteous, then distinguishes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s outcome as different—‘not there’—and points to a superior attainment for him.