Shloka 32
पाण्डोः प्रेतकार्य-सम्पादनम्
Pāṇḍu’s Funeral Rites and Public Mourning
अन्तकाले हि संवासं यया गन्तासि कान्तया । प्रेतराजपुरं प्राप्तं सर्वभूतदुरत्ययम् । भक्त्या मतिमतां श्रेष्ठ सैव त्वानुगमिष्यति,बुद्धिमानोंमें श्रेष्ठ महाराज! अन्तकाल आनेपर तुम जिस प्यारी पत्नीके साथ समागम करोगे, वही समस्त प्राणियोंके लिये दुर्गण यमलोकमें जानेपर भक्तिभावसे तुम्हारा अनुसरण करेगी
antakāle hi saṃvāsaṃ yayā gantāsi kāntayā | pretarājapuraṃ prāptaṃ sarvabhūtaduratyayam | bhaktyā matimatāṃ śreṣṭha saiva tvānugamiṣyati ||
For at the final hour, the beloved wife with whom you will be united—when you have reached the city of the Lord of the Departed (Yama), a realm hard for any being to cross—she alone, out of devoted love, will follow after you, O best among the wise. The verse underscores the moral weight of one’s last attachments and the power of faithful companionship that persists even beyond death.
मृग उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that one’s final attachment and companionship at the moment of death carries moral and spiritual consequence: devoted love (bhakti) can impel a faithful spouse to follow even into Yama’s realm, highlighting the enduring force of loyalty and the seriousness of end-of-life choices.
A deer addresses a king (praised as ‘best among the wise’) and foretells that the wife with whom he will be united at his last moment will, through devotion, follow him when he departs to Pretarājapura—Yama’s difficult-to-cross abode—framing the episode as a warning/insight about death, attachment, and faithful following.