Shloka 10
अध्याय ३३ — धृतराष्ट्रस्य कुशलप्रश्नाः तथा विदुरस्य योगसमाधिः
Chapter 33: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Welfare-Inquiries and Vidura’s Yogic Absorption
अश्वमेधे श्रुतिश्वेयमश्व॒संज्ञपनं प्रति । लोकान्तरगता नित्यं प्राणा नित्यं शरीरिणाम्
aśvamedhe śrutiś ceyam aśvasaṃjñapanaṃ prati | lokāntaragātā nityaṃ prāṇā nityaṃ śarīriṇām ||
毗舍波耶那说：“在马祭（阿湿婆梅陀）中，有一段与献圣并杀马相连的吠陀教诲：具身者的诸生命之力，恒常安立于他世。彼时所诵之咒，如‘愿汝之眼归于太阳；愿汝之气归于风’等，表明诸根与命气并非随身坏灭，而是各住其应归的宇宙归宿。故而，已往他世者再于此间以相应之形显现，并非不可能。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses Aśvamedha mantras to argue that an embodied being’s vital forces (prāṇa/indriyas) are not annihilated with the body; they are continually situated in their cosmic/otherworldly destinations (lokāntara). Hence, post-mortem continuity and even reappearance are presented as conceivable within the epic’s metaphysical framework.
Vaiśampāyana explains a doctrinal point by citing the Vedic practice in the Aśvamedha: at the ritual moment when the horse is dispatched, mantras assign the eye to the Sun and the breath to the Wind. He interprets this as evidence for the ongoing, otherworldly placement of life-breath and faculties, supporting the possibility of beings manifesting again after death.