Shloka 51
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
आकाशाददवरनिं प्राप्तस्ततः स पृथिवीपति: । एतदेव पुनश्नोक्त्वा विवेश धरणीतलम्
ākāśād adhaḥ varaṇiṁ prāptas tataḥ sa pṛthivīpatiḥ | etad eva punaś coktvā viveśa dharaṇītalam ||
Bhishma sprach: „Jener König, der Herr der Erde, stürzte aus dem Himmel herab und gelangte auf den Boden. Dann, indem er eben dasselbe Urteil nochmals wiederholte, versank er in der Erde.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
A ruler’s authority depends on dharmic judgment; an unjust decision causes loss of status, and stubbornly repeating the same wrong judgment leads to an even deeper fall.
Bhishma describes a king who first falls from the sky to the earth, and then—after repeating the same pronouncement—sinks further into the earth, illustrating escalating consequences for unethical rulings.