Shloka 16
असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
देवयान और पितृयान--ये दो परलोकके प्रसिद्ध मार्ग हैं। जो सकाम यज्ञोंका अनुष्ठान करनेवाले हैं वे पितृयानसे जाते हैं और मोक्षके अधिकारी देवयानमार्गसे ।।
tapasā brahmacaryeṇa svādhyāyena maharṣayaḥ | vimucya dehāṃs te yānti mṛtyor aviṣayaṃ gatāḥ || devayānaḥ pitṛyānaś ca—ete dvau paralokasya prasiddhau mārgau | ye sakāma-yajñān anuṣṭhātāraḥ te pitṛyānena yānti, mokṣādhikāriṇaḥ devayāna-mārgeṇa ||
尤提士提罗曰：“天道（Devayāna）与祖道（Pitṛyāna），乃通往彼世之二大著名道路。怀求果报而行祭祀者，循祖道而去；堪任解脱者，则循天道而行。诸大圣仙以苦行、梵行与诵习圣典之力，舍身之后，抵达死亡不得入的境界。”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage distinguishes two post-mortem trajectories: ritual action pursued for desired results leads along the Pitṛyāna (a merit-based path), while those oriented to liberation—grounded in austerity, disciplined celibacy, and sacred study—attain the Devayāna and reach a state beyond the reach of death.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and ultimate good, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a doctrinal contrast between result-seeking sacrificial practice and the liberative discipline of sages, describing how the latter, after leaving the body, attain a deathless realm.