Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
हतास्तस्मिन् महायुद्धे ये वीरास्तु महारथा: । घटोत्कचादयश्चैव देवान् यक्षांश्ष॒ भेजिरे
hatās tasmin mahāyuddhe ye vīrās tu mahārathāḥ | ghaṭotkacādayaś caiva devān yakṣāṁś ca bhejire ||
ആ മഹായുദ്ധത്തിൽ വീണ വീര മഹാരഥന്മാർ—ഘടോത്കചൻ മുതലായവർ—ദേവലോകങ്ങളെയും യക്ഷലോകങ്ങളെയും പ്രാപിച്ചു.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse affirms a moral-cosmic order in which the fallen heroes of the great war are not portrayed as annihilated but as reaching appropriate higher realms—suggesting that valor and one’s inherent disposition (and accrued merit) bear fruit beyond death.
Vaiśampāyana states that the great warriors who died in the Mahābhārata war—specifically mentioning Ghaṭotkaca among others—departed to the worlds of the gods and the Yakṣas, marking their posthumous transition to exalted realms.