Shloka 38
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
शतं सहस्त्राणि ततक्ष्रित्वा प्राप्रोति वर्ण हरितं तु पश्चात् स चैव तस्मिन् निवसत्यनीशो युगक्षये तपसा संवृतात्मा
śataṃ sahasrāṇi tatakṣṛtvā prāpnoti varṇaṃ haritaṃ tu paścāt | sa caiva tasmin nivasaty anīśo yugakṣaye tapasā saṃvṛtātmā ||
Bhishma berkata: “Sesudah itu, setelah ‘tertebas’ oleh derita selama ratusan ribu kali (atau tahun), sang makhluk berjasad kemudian mencapai keadaan ‘kehijauan’—yakni memasuki kelahiran rendah seperti hewan dan burung. Dalam keadaan itu pun, tanpa daya dan terbelenggu, ia tinggal dalam kesengsaraan besar. Namun ketika satu aeon berakhir, batinnya—terlindungi dan diteguhkan oleh tapas (daya laku tapa, atau masaknya jasa lama dan kejernihan budi)—dibebaskan dari bahaya itu.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Actions have long-lasting consequences: after prolonged suffering in punitive states, a being may fall into constrained lower births; yet the accumulated force of tapas—understood as austerity and/or ripened past merit and discernment—can eventually protect the self and enable release from danger.
Bhishma describes a post-mortem trajectory: extended torment (interpreted by the tradition as hellish wandering), followed by rebirth in lower, helpless conditions (symbolized by a ‘green’ state), and finally a rescue at the end of an aeon through the protective power of tapas.