Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
धृतराष्ट उवाच ये राजानो राजसूयाभिषिक्ता धर्मात्मानो रक्षितार: प्रजानाम् । ये चाश्वमेधावभथे प्लुतांगा- स्तेषां लोका धृतराष्ट्रो न तत्र
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | ye rājāno rājasūyābhiṣiktā dharmātmāno rakṣitāraḥ prajānām | ye cāśvamedhāvabhṛthe plutāṅgās teṣāṃ lokā dhṛtarāṣṭro na tatra ||
Sinabi ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra: “Muni, yaong mga haring pinahiran sa Rājasūya, matuwid ang diwa at tagapangalaga ng kanilang nasasakupan; at yaong ang mga sangkap ay nababasa sa pangwakas na paliligo (avabhṛtha) ng Aśvamedha—sila ang nakaaabot sa mga daigdig ni Prajāpati. Si Dhṛtarāṣṭra ay hindi makararating doon.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
The verse links royal dharma—protecting subjects and upholding righteousness—with the highest ritual merits (Rājasūya and Aśvamedha), implying that ethical kingship and sanctioned sacrifice lead to exalted posthumous realms; Dhṛtarāṣṭra laments that such a destiny is not his.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses a sage, reflecting on the heavenly attainments of truly righteous, ritually accomplished kings, and expresses his own exclusion from those Prajāpati-worlds—an admission of moral shortfall and its consequences.