Shloka 21
Kapila’s Conclusion: Limits of Karma and Yoga; Supremacy of Bhakti and Qualification to Receive the Teaching
ततस्ते क्षीणसुकृता: पुनर्लोकमिमं सति । पतन्ति विवशा देवै: सद्यो विभ्रंशितोदया: ॥ २१ ॥
tatas te kṣīṇa-sukṛtāḥ punar lokam imaṁ sati patanti vivaśā devaiḥ sadyo vibhraṁśitodayāḥ
Quand les fruits de leurs mérites s’épuisent, par une ordonnance supérieure ils retombent sans recours et, soudain privés de leur élévation, reviennent en ce monde.
It is sometimes found that a person elevated to a very high position in government service falls down all of a sudden, and no one can check him. Similarly, after finishing their period of enjoyment, foolish persons who are very much interested in being elevated to the position of president in higher planets also fall down to this planet. The distinction between the elevated position of a devotee and that of an ordinary person attracted to fruitive activities is that when a devotee is elevated to the spiritual kingdom he never falls down, whereas an ordinary person falls, even if he is elevated to the highest planetary system, Brahmaloka. It is confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā ( ābrahma-bhuvanāl lokāḥ ) that even if one is elevated to a higher planet, he has to come down again. But Kṛṣṇa confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (8.16) , mām upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate: “Anyone who attains My abode never comes back to this conditioned life of material existence.”
FAQs
This verse states that when pious credits are exhausted, the enjoyer of heavenly results must return to the earthly world, losing that elevated position immediately.
Kapila teaches Devahuti that karmic rewards—even heavenly—are temporary, so one should seek liberation through devotion and spiritual realization rather than chasing celestial enjoyment.
Don’t base your life’s goal on temporary status or pleasure; invest in lasting spiritual practice—bhakti, self-discipline, and inner detachment—so progress doesn’t collapse when external “merit” runs out.