Shloka 41
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
निरयाच्चापि मानुष्यं कालेनैष्याम्यहं पुन: । मनुष्यत्वाच्च देवत्वं देवत्वात् पौरुषं पुन:,नरकसे दीर्घकालके बाद छुटकारा मिलनेपर मैं पुनः मनुष्यलोकमें जन्म लूँगा। मानवयोनिसे पुण्यके फलस्वरूप देवयोनिमें जाऊँगा और वहाँसे पुण्य-क्षीण होनेपर पुनः मानव-शरीरमें जन्म लूँगा
nirayāc cāpi mānuṣyaṁ kālenaiṣyāmy ahaṁ punaḥ | manuṣyatvāc ca devatvaṁ devatvāt pauruṣaṁ punaḥ ||
Vasiṣṭha berkata: “Bahkan dari neraka pun, pada waktunya, aku akan kembali lahir sebagai manusia. Dari kehidupan manusia, melalui buah kebajikan, seseorang mencapai keadaan para dewa; dan dari kedewaan, apabila kebajikan itu habis, ia kembali lagi ke jasad manusia.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the cyclical movement of beings through realms according to karma: suffering states like hell are not eternal; merit can elevate one to divine realms, but even heaven is temporary—when merit is exhausted, one returns to human birth. Ethical effort in human life is therefore crucial.
Vasiṣṭha is explaining the post-mortem trajectory of the self: after experiencing the results of wrongdoing in niraya, one returns to human life; through righteous conduct and accumulated merit one may reach deva-status; and after the depletion of that merit, one is reborn again among humans.