Shloka 74
Sarasvatī–Tārkṣya Saṃvāda: Agnihotra-vidhi, Dāna-phala, and Mokṣa-prasaṅga (सरस्वती–तार्क्ष्यसंवादः)
जन्तो: प्रेतस्प कौन्तेय गति: स्वैरिह कर्मभि: । प्राज्ञस्थ हीनबुद्धेश्न कर्मकोश: क्व तिष्ठति,कुन्तीनन्दन! इस संसारमें मृत्युके पश्चात् जीवकी गति उनके अपने-अपने कर्मोंके अनुसार ही होती है। परंतु मरनेके बाद ज्ञानी और अज्ञानीकी कर्मराशि कहाँ रहती है? कहाँ रहकर वह पुण्य अथवा पापका फल भोगता है? इस दृष्टिसे जो तुमने प्रश्न किया है, उसके उत्तरमें मैं सिद्धान्त बता रहा हूँ, सुनो
jantōḥ pretasya kaunteya gatiḥ svair iha karmabhiḥ | prājñastha hīnabuddheś ca karmakośaḥ kva tiṣṭhati ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O son of Kuntī, the course a being takes after death is determined here by its own deeds. Yet where does the accumulated store of actions abide after one dies—whether of the wise or of the dull-witted—and from what locus does one undergo the experience of merit and sin? Since you have asked from this standpoint, I shall state the settled doctrine; listen.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
A being’s post-death destiny is governed by its own actions; the verse frames a philosophical problem—where the ‘store of karma’ resides after death and how merit and sin are experienced—preparing for a doctrinal explanation of karmic continuity beyond the body.
In the Vana Parva dialogue, the sage Mārkaṇḍeya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira (Kaunteya). Responding to his question about the fate of karma after death for both wise and ignorant persons, Mārkaṇḍeya signals that he will now present the established siddhānta (conclusion).