Shloka 54
नरनारायण-नारदसंवादः
Nara-Nārāyaṇa–Nārada Discourse on Vision, Elements, and Entry into Vāsudeva
न होष क्षयतां याति सोम: सुरगणैर्यथा । कम्पितः पतते भूमिं पुनश्चैवाधिरोहति,देवतालोग चन्द्रमाका अमृत पीकर जिस प्रकार उसे क्षीण कर देते हैं, उस प्रकार सूर्यदेवका क्षय नहीं होता। धूममार्गसे चन्द्रमण्डलमें गया हुआ जीव कर्मभोग समाप्त होनेपर कम्पित हो फिर इस पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़ता है। इसी प्रकार नूतन कर्मफल भोगनेके लिये वह पुन: चन्द्रलोकमें जाता है (सारांश यह कि चन्द्रलोकमें जानेवालेको आवागमनसे छुटकारा नहीं मिलता है)
na hoṣa kṣayatāṃ yāti somaḥ suragaṇair yathā | kampitaḥ patate bhūmiṃ punaś caivādhirohati ||
Narada said: “The Sun does not suffer diminution in the way the Moon is made to wane by the hosts of gods. Likewise, a being who has gone to the lunar sphere by the path of smoke, when the enjoyment of his karmic merit is exhausted, trembles and falls back to the earth; and again, in order to experience the fruits of newly acquired actions, he ascends once more. Thus, one who reaches the Moon is not freed from the cycle of coming and going.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heavenly attainments such as reaching the Moon-world are temporary: when the merit that produced them is exhausted, the soul returns to earth and re-enters the cycle of rebirth. Therefore, such destinations do not constitute liberation from saṃsāra.
Nārada explains a cosmological-ethical point: unlike the Moon, which is described as waning under divine consumption, the Sun is not diminished; and a being who reaches the lunar realm via the ‘path of smoke’ eventually falls back to earth once karmic enjoyment ends, then ascends again through new karma—showing repeated coming and going.