Shloka 8
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 5 — Karmaphala-Nirdeśa and Phalāśruti (कर्मफलनिर्देशः फलश्रुतिश्च)
वैशम्पायन उवाच न शक्यं कर्मणामन्ते सर्वेण मनुजाधिप । प्रकृति कि नु सम्यक्ते पृच्छैषा सम्प्रयोजिता
vaiśampāyana uvāca | na śakyaṃ karmaṇām ante sarveṇa manujādhipa | prakṛtiṃ ki nu samyakte pṛcchaiṣā samprayojitā ||
毗舍波耶那说道：“噢，人中之主！不可能在业果穷尽之时，所有人无一例外都归于普拉克里蒂（原初本性）而得解散。若你疑心此问是否不当，并非如此：正是针对那些未能归入普拉克里蒂者，你的提问才完全切要——他们将成何所归，又依何原则而区分其后续的命运？”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse challenges a simplistic universal claim: the exhaustion of karmic results does not automatically lead every being to merge into Prakṛti. It implies differentiated outcomes based on deeper causes—such as knowledge, merit, and the specific trajectory of the self—so the inquiry into ‘who attains what’ remains philosophically necessary.
Vaiśampāyana addresses the king and clarifies that the question under discussion is not misplaced. He frames the issue: after karmic fruition ends, not all beings reach the same ultimate state (Prakṛti), so the king’s inquiry is relevant for understanding the destinies of those who do not attain that dissolution.