Shloka 30
Brahma-vidyā: Satya–Tapas and the Enumeration of Tattvas
Arjuna–Vāsudeva framed dialogue
कौ चोभौ कर्मणां मार्गो प्राप्तुयुर्दक्षिणोत्तरी । प्रलयं चापवर्ग च भूतानां प्रभवाप्ययौं
kau cobhau karmaṇāṁ mārgo prāptuyur dakṣiṇottarī | pralayaṁ cāpavargaṁ ca bhūtānāṁ prabhavāpyayau ||
Apakah dua jalan tindakan yang membuat orang mencapai lintasan selatan dan lintasan utara? Apakah pralaya (peleburan) dan apavarga (pembebasan)? Dan bagi makhluk hidup, apakah kelahiran dan kematian—muncul dan lenyapnya mereka?
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a doctrinal inquiry: how actions (karma) relate to two post-mortem trajectories symbolized as the southern and northern courses, and how these fit within the larger metaphysical scheme of dissolution (pralaya), liberation (apavarga/mokṣa), and the cycle of arising and passing away (birth and death).
Vāyudeva, as the speaker, poses a set of foundational questions to prompt a systematic explanation: the two karmic paths leading to distinct destinies, the nature of cosmic/individual dissolution, the meaning of liberation, and the principles underlying the birth and death of beings.