Shloka 3
Paurava-vaṃśa-kathana (Account of the Paurava Lineage) | महाभारत आदि पर्व अध्याय ८९
इन्द्र रवाच यदावमंस्था: सदृश: श्रेयसश्न अल्पीयसश्षाविदितप्रभाव: । तस्माल्लोकास्त्वन्तवन्तस्तवेमे क्षीणे पुण्ये पतितास्यद्य राजन्,इन्द्र बोले--राजन्! तुमने अपने समान, अपनेसे बड़े और छोटे लोगोंका प्रभाव न जानकर सबका तिरस्कार किया है, अतः तुम्हारे इन पुण्यलोकोंमें रहनेकी अवधि समाप्त हो गयी; क्योंकि (दूसरोंकी निन्दा करनेके कारण) तुम्हारा पुण्य क्षीण हो गया, इसलिये अब तुम यहाँसे नीचे गिरोगे
śakra uvāca | yad avamaṁsthāḥ sadṛśaḥ śreyasaś ca alpīyasaś ca avidita-prabhāvaḥ | tasmāl lokās tv antavantas taveme kṣīṇe puṇye patito ’sy adya rājan ||
Śakra (Indra) said: “Because you have shown contempt toward others—those equal to you, those superior, and those inferior—without understanding their true power and worth, the term of your stay in these meritorious worlds has come to an end. Your merit has been exhausted by such disparagement; therefore, O king, today you will fall from here.”
शक्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
Heavenly enjoyment is finite and depends on accumulated merit; contempt and disparagement of others erode that merit. Ethical restraint—especially humility and respect toward all—protects one’s spiritual and karmic standing.
Indra addresses a king who has been enjoying heavenly realms. Indra explains that the king’s scorn toward people of all ranks has depleted his merit, so his allotted time in those worlds has ended and he must now fall from heaven.