Shloka 45
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
दैवानि स व्यूहशतानि सप्त रक्तो हरिद्रोडथ तथैव शुक्ल: । संश्रित्य संधावति शुक्लमेत- मष्टावरानर्च्यतमान् स लोकान्
daivāni sa vyūhaśatāni sapta rakto haridro ’tha tathaiva śuklaḥ | saṃśritya saṃdhāvati śuklam etad aṣṭāvarān arcayatamān sa lokān ||
Bhishma explains that the embodied being, propelled by the force of prior merit, successively assumes divine formations and bodies—first of a red hue, then turmeric-golden, and then pure white like the perfected, subtle-bodied sages. Taking refuge in these divine embodiments in due order, it ranges through the highest worlds beginning with Bhū and onward, honoring the presiding powers there; and then, moving swiftly, it reaches the utterly purified Brahma-world. The ethical point is that disciplined conduct and accumulated virtue shape one’s post-mortem trajectory, carrying the soul upward through graded realms toward the most refined state.
भीष्म उवाच