Shloka 22
Śiva Grants the Pāśupata Astra (Pāśupata-Śastra Upadeśa) | शिवेन पाशुपतास्त्रदानम्
अंशाश्च क्षितिसम्प्राप्ता देवदानवरक्षसाम्,'शत्रुओंका संहार करनेवाले कुन्तीकुमार! देवताओं, दानवों तथा राक्षसोंके जो अंश पृथ्वीपर उत्पन्न हुए हैं, वे युद्धमें तुम्हारे द्वारा मारे जाकर अपने कर्मफलके अनुसार यथोचित गति प्राप्त करेंगे
aṃśāś ca kṣitisamprāptā devadānavarakṣasām | śatrūṇāṃ saṃhārakaraṇe kuntīkumāra! devatānāṃ dānavānāṃ tathā rakṣasāṃ ye 'ṃśāḥ pṛthivyāṃ utpannāḥ, te yuddhe tvayā hatvā svakarmaphalānusāreṇa yathocitaṃ gatiṃ prāpsyanti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O son of Kuntī, destroyer of enemies—those portions (incarnate shares) of gods, Dānavas, and Rākṣasas who have come down to the earth will, when slain by you in battle, attain the destinies appropriate to them, in accordance with the fruits of their own deeds. The statement frames the coming violence not as personal hatred but as a cosmic settling of moral accounts, where each being meets the consequence suited to its conduct.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links battlefield death to karma and rightful destiny: even when cosmic beings incarnate on earth, their end is governed by their own deeds, and the warrior’s role is framed as an instrument through which appropriate outcomes (gati) unfold rather than as mere personal vengeance.
Vaiśampāyana addresses a son of Kuntī (a Pāṇḍava), explaining that many beings on earth are incarnate portions of devas, dānavas, and rākṣasas; when the hero slays them in war, they will attain the fitting posthumous states according to their karmic results.