Shloka 6
ते5पतन्त हता बाणैर्नानारूपै: किरीटिना । सविमाना यथा सिद्धा: स्वर्गात् पुण्यक्षये तथा,किरीटधारी अर्जुनके चलाये हुए नाना प्रकारके बाणोंसे मारे जाकर वे संशप्तक रथी पुण्यक्षय होनेपर विमानसहित स्वर्गसे गिरनेवाले सिद्धोंक समान रथसे नीचे गिर पड़े
te ’patanta hatā bāṇair nānārūpaiḥ kirīṭinā | savimānā yathā siddhāḥ svargāt puṇyakṣaye tathā ||
Sañjaya said: Struck down by the many-shaped arrows loosed by the diademed Arjuna, those Saṁśaptaka chariot-warriors fell from their cars—like perfected beings who, when their store of merit is exhausted, drop from heaven together with their celestial vehicles. The verse underscores a moral irony of war: worldly glory and even heavenly reward are impermanent, and valor without enduring righteousness cannot prevent decline.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The simile of Siddhas falling from heaven at the exhaustion of merit teaches impermanence: even exalted states depend on accumulated puṇya and can end. In the war context, it hints that martial glory and reward are contingent, and lasting good is tied to dharma rather than mere prowess.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna (Kirīṭin) shoots diverse arrows that kill the Saṁśaptaka chariot-fighters, causing them to tumble from their chariots, compared to heavenly Siddhas falling from Svarga when their merit runs out.