Shloka 37
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
कृष्णस्य वर्णस्य गतिर्निकृष्टा स सज्जते नरके पच्यमान: । स्थानं तथा दुर्गतिभिस्तु तस्य प्रजाविसर्गान् सुबहून् वदन्ति
kṛṣṇasya varṇasya gatir nikṛṣṭā sa sajjate narake pacyamānaḥ | sthānaṃ tathā durgatibhis tu tasya prajāvisargān subahūn vadanti ||
Bhishma berkata: “Takdir bagi yang berada dalam keadaan ‘gelap’ digambarkan sebagai hina. Terikat pada perbuatan terlarang yang mengantar ke neraka, ia dimasak dalam api neraka. Para resi menyatakan bahwa tempatnya berada di antara mereka yang berakhir celaka, dan bahwa ia tinggal di sana melalui banyak siklus penciptaan—sebab didorong oleh laku yang salah, ia berulang kali berbuat dosa.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Attachment to prohibited, unethical actions (niṣiddha-karma) leads to a degraded destiny and prolonged suffering in hell; one’s conduct, not mere identity, determines one’s post-mortem course.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during Śānti Parva, he describes the karmic outcome of a person who repeatedly engages in forbidden deeds: sages are cited as authorities who state that such a person is tormented in naraka for many cycles of creation.