evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna
SYNONYMS
evam-vidhāḥ—of this sort; narakāḥ—the many hells; yama-ālaye—in the province of Yamarāja; santi—are; śataśaḥ—hundreds; sahasraśaḥ—thousands; teṣu—in those hellish planets; sarveṣu—all; ca—also; sarve—all; eva—indeed; adharma-vartinaḥ—persons not following the Vedic principles or regulative principles; ye kecit—whosoever; iha—here; uditāḥ—mentioned; anuditāḥ—not mentioned; ca—and; avani-pate—O King; paryāyeṇa—according to the degree of different kinds of sinful activity; viśanti—they enter; tathā eva—similarly; dharma-anuvartinaḥ—those who are pious and act according to the regulative principles or Vedic injunctions; itaratra—elsewhere; iha—on this planet; tu—but; punaḥ-bhave—into another birth; te—all of them; ubhaya-śeṣābhyām—by the remainder of the results of piety or vice; niviśanti—they enter.
TRANSLATION
My dear King Parīkṣit, in the province of Yamarāja there are hundreds and thousands of hellish planets. The impious people I have mentioned—and also those I have not mentioned—must all enter these various planets according to the degree of their impiety. Those who are pious, however, enter other planetary systems, namely the planets of the demigods. Nevertheless, both the pious and impious are again brought to earth after the results of their pious or impious acts are exhausted.
PURPORT
This corresponds to the beginning of Lord Kṛṣṇa's instructions in Bhagavad-gītā. Tathā dehāntara-prāptiḥ: within this material world, one is simply meant to change from one body to another in different planetary systems. Ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā: [Bg. 14.18] those in the mode of goodness are elevated to the heavenly planets. Adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ: similarly, those too engrossed in ignorance enter the hellish planetary systems. Both of them, however, are subjected to the repetition of birth and death. In Bhagavad-gītā it is stated that even one who is very pious returns to earth after his enjoyment in the higher planetary systems is over (kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti [Bg. 9.21]). Therefore, going from one planet to another does not solve the problems of life. The problems of life will only be solved when we no longer have to accept a material body. This can be possible if one simply becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious. As Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad-gītā (4.9):
evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma
naiti mām eti so 'rjuna