Shloka 31
रावण–मारीचसंवादः तथा मृगप्रलोभनपूर्वकं सीताहरणोपक्रमः
Rāvaṇa–Mārīca Dialogue and the Decoy-Deer Prelude to Sītā’s Abduction
संज्ञामोहश्न पततां रजसा च प्रधर्षणम् । प्रम्लानेषु च माल्येषु ततः पिपतिषोर्भयम्,स्वर्गलोकसे गिरते समय वहाँके निवासियोंकी चेतना लुप्त हो जाती है। रजोगुणके आक्रमणसे उनकी बुद्धि बिगड़ जाती है। पहले उनके गलेकी मालाएँ कुम्हला जाती हैं; इससे उन्हें पतनकी सूचना मिल जानेसे उनके मनमें बड़ा भारी भय समा जाता है
saṃjñāmohaś ca patatāṃ rajasaś ca pradharṣaṇam | pramlāneṣu ca mālyeṣu tataḥ pipatiṣor bhayam ||
The divine messenger said: “When their merit is exhausted and they are about to fall from heaven, their awareness becomes clouded; the force of rajas assails them and their discernment is disturbed. First their garlands wither, and recognizing this as the sign of impending descent, a great fear arises in those who are about to fall.”
देवदूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even heavenly enjoyment is impermanent and dependent on accumulated merit; when that merit wanes, the mind is shaken by rajas, clarity is lost, and attachment turns into fear. The verse underscores the ethical lesson that lasting security is not found in transient rewards but in steadier spiritual grounding.
A divine messenger describes the omens experienced by residents of heaven when their time there ends: their consciousness becomes confused, rajas overwhelms them, their garlands wither first, and realizing this as the sign of imminent descent, they are seized by intense fear.