Shloka 23
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
अनन्तो भगवान् देव: प्रविवेश रसातलम् | पितामहनियोगाद् वै यो योगाद् गामधारयत्
ananto bhagavān devaḥ praviveśa rasātalam | pitāmaha-niyogād vai yo yogād gām adhārayat |
毗湿摩波耶那说：福德具足的天神阿难陀归入罗娑多罗，回到自己的住处。他正是那位奉祖父梵天之命，以瑜伽之力托持大地的阿难陀。（在同一段收束之中，毗度罗与尤提施提罗王亦被说成归入达摩本身，强调他们的终结被理解为回归其本原原则，而非仅是形体的离去。）
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the end of heroic lives as a restoration of cosmic order: divine beings return to their proper realms, and righteousness (dharma) is treated as an ontological reality into which the righteous can merge. It emphasizes that the world is sustained by divine support (Ananta) operating under cosmic governance (Brahmā’s command) and spiritual power (yoga).
In the concluding events of the Mahābhārata, Ananta—identified in the surrounding narration with Balarāma’s divine nature—withdraws from the human scene and enters Rasātala, his own domain. The text recalls his cosmic role of upholding the earth by yogic power under Brahmā’s directive, while nearby narration also notes Vidura and Yudhiṣṭhira entering into Dharma.