Shloka 20
Go-apahāra (Cattle Theft), Go-dāna (Cow-Gift), and Suvarṇa-dakṣiṇā (Gold Fee): Karmic Consequence and Purificatory Merit
एतस्मिन्नेव काले तु चोदित: कालधर्मणा । पितृलोकमहं प्राप्य धर्मराजमुपागमम्,“इसी बीचमें कालकी प्रेरणासे मैं मृत्युको प्राप्त हुआ और पितृलोकमें पहुँचकर धर्मराजसे मिला
etasminneva kāle tu coditaḥ kāladharmaṇā | pitṛlokam ahaṃ prāpya dharmarājam upāgamam ||
ในกาลนั้นเอง ด้วยแรงขับแห่งธรรมของกาล ข้าถึงความตาย ครั้นไปถึงโลกบรรพชนแล้วจึงเข้าเฝ้าธรรมราช
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the inevitability of death under the ordinance of Time (kāladharma) and points to moral accountability after death, where one approaches Dharmarāja, the judge who dispenses results according to karma and dharma.
The Brahmin speaker states that, at that moment, he died due to Time’s decree, reached Pitṛloka, and then went to Dharmarāja (Yama), indicating a transition from earthly life to the post-mortem realm of judgment.