Shloka 23
Doṣa-Parīkṣā and Guṇa-Viveka
Examination of Faults and Discernment of the Guṇas
एवं प्रकृतित: सर्वे प्रवर्तन्ते शरीरिण: । निवर्तन्ते निवृत्तौ च स्वर्ग चैवोपयान्ति च
evaṁ prakṛtitaḥ sarve pravartante śarīriṇaḥ | nivartante nivṛttau ca svargaṁ caivopayānti ca ||
Disse Bhīṣma: Assim, todos os seres encarnados surgem e se põem em movimento a partir de Prakṛti (a natureza material). No devido tempo, na dissolução (a morte), recolhem-se de novo a essa mesma fonte. Depois, conforme os frutos de seu mérito e demérito, alcançam os mundos do céu e do inferno.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
All beings emerge and function due to Prakriti and return to it at dissolution; after death, their experience of higher or lower worlds is governed by karma—merit and demerit—highlighting ethical responsibility within the natural cycle.
In Bhishma’s instruction during the Shanti Parva, he explains the general law governing embodied existence: origin from nature, return at death, and subsequent movement to heaven (and implicitly hell) according to one’s deeds.