Shloka 40
Dehānta (Cyavana) and Upapatti: Kāśyapa’s Questions and the Siddha’s Account of Death, Pain, and Karmic Re-embodiment
कर्मक्षयाच्च ते सर्वे च्यवन्ते वै पुन: पुन: । तत्रापि च विशेषो$स्ति दिवि नीचोच्चमध्यम:
karmakṣayāc ca te sarve cyavante vai punaḥ punaḥ | tatrāpi ca viśeṣo 'sti divi nīcoccamadhyamaḥ ||
Der Siddha sprach: „Wenn das Verdienst ihrer Taten erschöpft ist, fallen all jene Wesen immer wieder aus jenem Bereich herab. So setzt sich ihr Kommen und Gehen unablässig fort. Selbst im Himmel gibt es Unterschiede—niedrige, mittlere und erhabene—je nach Güte und Maß des angesammelten Verdienstes.“
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heaven is not a final liberation: it is a temporary result of merit. When puṇya is spent (karmakṣaya), beings fall and re-enter the cycle of repeated movement (punaḥ punaḥ), and even within heaven there are graded levels corresponding to the quality and quantity of merit.
A Siddha instructs the listener about the mechanics of karmic results: celestial enjoyment ends when merit is exhausted, leading to descent, and the heavenly realm itself contains internal hierarchies (low, middle, high) rather than a single uniform reward.