Shloka 8
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
वैशम्पायन उवाच न शक्यं कर्मणामन्ते सर्वेण मनुजाधिप । प्रकृति कि नु सम्यक्ते पृच्छैषा सम्प्रयोजिता,वैशम्पायनजी बोले--राजन्! कर्मोंका भोग समाप्त हो जानेपर सभी लोग अपनी प्रकृति (मूल कारण)-को ही नहीं प्राप्त हो जाते हैं; (कोई-कोई ही अपने कारणमें विलीन होता है) यदि पूछो, क्या मेरा प्रश्न असंगत है? तो इसका उत्तर यह है कि जो प्रकृतिको प्राप्त नहीं हैं, उनके उद्देश्यसे तुम्हारा यह प्रश्न सर्वथा ठीक है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | na śakyaṃ karmaṇām ante sarveṇa manujādhipa | prakṛtiṃ ki nu samyakte pṛcchaiṣā samprayojitā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O lord of men, it is not possible that, when the fruits of actions come to an end, everyone without exception attains dissolution into Prakṛti (the primordial ground). If you wonder whether my question is ill-posed, it is not: it is precisely relevant with regard to those who do not attain Prakṛti—what becomes of them, and by what principle are their destinies distinguished?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse challenges a simplistic universal claim: the exhaustion of karmic results does not automatically lead every being to merge into Prakṛti. It implies differentiated outcomes based on deeper causes—such as knowledge, merit, and the specific trajectory of the self—so the inquiry into ‘who attains what’ remains philosophically necessary.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and clarifies that the question under discussion is not misplaced. He frames the issue: after karmic fruition ends, not all beings reach the same ultimate state (Prakṛti), so the king’s inquiry is relevant for understanding the destinies of those who do not attain that dissolution.