Shloka 21
Arjuna’s request to Krishna and the opening of the Kāśyapa–Brāhmaṇa mokṣa discourse (Āśvamedhika-parva 16)
जातीमरणतत्त्वज्ञं कोविदं पापपुण्ययो: । द्रष्टारमुच्चनीचानां कर्मभिवदेहिनां गतिम्,प्राचीन समयमें काश्यप नामके एक धर्मज्ञ और तपस्वी ब्राह्मण किसी सिद्ध महर्षिके पास गये; जो धर्मके विषयमें शास्त्रके सम्पूर्ण रहस्योंको जाननेवाले, भूत और भविष्यके ज्ञान-विज्ञानमें प्रवीण, लोक-तत्त्वके ज्ञानमें कुशल, सुख-दुःखके रहस्यको समझनेवाले, जन्म-मृत्युके तत्त्वज्ञ, पाप-पुण्यके ज्ञाता और ऊँच-नीच प्राणियोंको कर्मानुसार प्राप्त होनेवाली गतिके प्रत्यक्ष द्रष्टा थे
jātimaraṇatattvajñaṁ kovidaṁ pāpapuṇyayoḥ | draṣṭāram uccanīcānāṁ karmabhir dehināṁ gatiṁ ||
Disse o brâmane: “Ele conhecia os verdadeiros princípios do nascimento e da morte e discernia com perícia o pecado e o mérito. Via diretamente os destinos que os seres encarnados—altos e baixos—alcançam conforme seus atos.”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral causality governs embodied existence: beings attain higher or lower destinies in accordance with their actions, and true wisdom includes discerning the realities of birth, death, and the ethical weight of merit and sin.
The speaker (a Brahmin) describes an accomplished sage—one who understands birth and death and can discern merit and sin—portraying him as a direct witness of how different beings reach their respective destinies through karma.