Shloka 3
जिसके प्राण दोनों पिण्डलियोंके मार्गसे बाहर निकलते हैं, वह वसु नामक देवताओंके लोकमें जाता है; ऐसा हमने सुन रक्खा है। घुटनोंसे प्राणत्याग करनेपर महाभाग साध्य-देवताओंके लोकोंकी प्राप्ति होती है ।। पायुनोत्क्रममाणस्तु मैत्रं स्थानमवाप्रुयात् । पृथिवीं जघनेनाथ ऊरुभ्यां च प्रजापतिम्
pāyunotkramamāṇas tu maitraṃ sthānam avāpnuyāt | pṛthivīṃ jaghanenātha ūrubhyāṃ ca prajāpatiṃ ||
पायुनोत्क्रममाणस्तु मैत्रं स्थानमवाप्नुयात् । पृथिवीं जघनेनाथ ऊरुभ्यां च प्रजापतिम् ॥
याज्ञवल्क्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the departure-route of prāṇa at death is linked to specific post-mortem destinations (realms of Mitra, Earth, and Prajāpati), implying that inner discipline and the condition of one’s life-force at death have moral and spiritual consequences.
In a didactic discourse within Śānti Parva, the sage Yājñavalkya explains a traditional mapping between bodily exit-points of the life-breath and the cosmic realms attained after death, continuing a broader discussion on death, destiny, and spiritual attainment.