Shloka 46
अव्यक्त-गुण-पुरुषविवेकः | Avyakta, Guṇas, and Discrimination of Puruṣa
तिर्यग्योनिमनुष्यत्वं देवलोके तथैव च । त्रीणि स्थानानि चैतानि जानीयात् प्रकृतानि ह,तिर्यग्योनि, मनुष्ययोनि तथा देवलोकमें देवयोनि ये कर्म-फल-भोगके तीन स्थान हैं। इन सबको प्राकृत समझो
tiryagyonimanuṣyatvaṃ devaloke tathaiva ca | trīṇi sthānāni caitāni jānīyāt prakṛtāni ha ||
Vasiṣṭha berkata: “Kelahiran sebagai haiwan, kelahiran sebagai manusia, dan kehidupan di alam para dewa—itulah tiga tempat di mana buah perbuatan dialami. Ketahuilah semuanya sebagai ‘prakṛta’, yakni termasuk dalam perjalanan biasa kewujudan berjasad.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse classifies the main arenas of karmic experience—animal, human, and divine realms—and stresses that all three are part of prakṛta (ordinary conditioned existence). Ethical effort and right understanding should not mistake heavenly reward as final; it remains within the cycle of karma and rebirth.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vasiṣṭha is teaching about the structure of embodied life and how beings experience the results of actions. He frames these realms as standard destinations of karmic fruition, preparing the listener to seek a higher aim beyond them.