Shloka 24
विशीर्णमलिनोष्णीष: प्रकीर्णाम्बरमूर्धज: । प्रपतन् दृश्यते ह सम क्षीणपुण्य इव ग्रह:,उनकी मलिन पगड़ी बिखर गयी थी, शरीरके वस्त्र अस्त-व्यस्त हो गये थे और बाल बिखर गये थे। वे गिरते समय पुण्यहीन ग्रहकी भाँति दिखायी देते थे
viśīrṇa-malinoṣṇīṣaḥ prakīrṇāmbara-mūrdhajaḥ | prapatan dṛśyate ha sama kṣīṇa-puṇya iva grahaḥ ||
Serbannya yang kotor telah terurai; pakaian dan rambutnya tercerai-berai. Saat ia jatuh, ia tampak laksana sebuah bintang yang kehilangan jasa kebajikan—cahayanya padam—terlepas dari kedudukannya.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a vivid simile—‘like a celestial body whose merit is exhausted’—to suggest that outward collapse mirrors inner depletion: when पुण्य (merit) is spent, one’s stability, dignity, and ‘radiance’ (status/fortune) can fall away. It reinforces the Mahābhārata’s ethical theme that actions and accumulated merit have tangible consequences.
Vāyudeva describes a figure seen falling, with turban, clothes, and hair disheveled. The imagery emphasizes sudden downfall and loss of composure, comparing the person’s appearance in descent to a star/planet dropping from its place after its merit is exhausted.