Shloka 18
गङ्गाधारणम् (Gaṅgādhāraṇa) — Śiva Bears the Descent of Gaṅgā
कपिल देवमासाद्य क्षणेन निधनं गता: । तेषामेवं विनष्टानां स्वर्गे वासो न विद्यते
kapila devam āsādya kṣaṇena nidhanaṃ gatāḥ | teṣām evaṃ vinaṣṭānāṃ svarge vāso na vidyate ||
Having encountered the divine Kapila, they met their end in an instant. Since they were thus destroyed, no abode in heaven is available to them—implying that a ruinous end born of wrongdoing and spiritual blindness does not yield the merit that leads to heavenly reward.
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere contact with the sacred does not guarantee spiritual reward; if one’s conduct is adharma and one meets destruction as a consequence, that end does not generate the merit that leads to heaven. Ethical action and right intention are central to attaining higher worlds.
The speaker states that certain persons, upon encountering the divine sage Kapila, were destroyed instantly; because they perished in that culpable state, they are said to have no residence in heaven.