Shloka 14
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
इदं चैवापरं प्राह देवी तत्पियकाम्यया । निरयं नैव याता त्वं यत्र याता द्विजर्षभा:
idaṃ caivāparaṃ prāha devī tatpriyakāmyayā | nirayaṃ naiva yātā tvaṃ yatra yātā dvijarṣabhāḥ ||
เทพีผู้ประสงค์จะทำให้เขาเป็นที่ยินดี ตรัสต่อว่า “ท่านมิได้ไปสู่นรกเลย; ท่านได้ไปถึงภาวะที่พราหมณ์ผู้ประเสริฐทั้งหลายบรรลุ”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes moral reassurance about posthumous destiny: one’s end is not necessarily a punitive hell, but can be the blessed state attained by the most righteous and spiritually accomplished (here, ‘the foremost Brahmins’), implying the power of merit and right conduct.
Bhīṣma reports a divine utterance: a goddess, intending to please and console, adds that the addressed person has not fallen into hell; instead, they have reached the exalted realm/state associated with the best of the twice-born.