Shloka 90
रथेभ्यो रथिन: पेतुर्द्धिपे भ्यो हस्तिसादिन: । विमानेभ्यो दिवो भ्रष्टा: सिद्धा: पुण्यक्षयादिव,जैसे सिद्ध पुरुष पुण्यक्षय होनेपर स्वर्गलोकके विमानोंसे नीचे गिर जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार वहाँ रथी रथोंसे और हाथीसवार हाथियोंसे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
sañjaya uvāca | rathebhyo rathinaḥ petur dvipebhyo hastisādinaḥ | vimānebhyo divo bhraṣṭāḥ siddhāḥ puṇyakṣayād iva ||
Sañjaya said: The chariot-warriors fell from their chariots, and the elephant-riders fell from their elephants. It was as though perfected beings, their store of merit exhausted, were dropping from the heavenly world and its aerial cars—so, on that battlefield, the mighty were cast down to the earth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The simile of Siddhas falling from heaven when their merit is exhausted highlights impermanence and karmic limitation: status, power, and even heavenly attainment are not permanent; when the supporting force of puṇya (merit) is spent, a fall follows. In the war context, it also suggests that martial glory is fragile and morally weighty.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where chariot-fighters tumble from their chariots and elephant-riders drop from their elephants, likening the mass downfall to celestial Siddhas falling from heavenly vimānas due to the depletion of their accumulated merit.