Shloka 25
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
असंख्याता भविष्यन्ति भिक्षवो लिज्लिनस्तथा । आश्रमाणां विकल्पाश्न निवृत्तेडस्मिन् कृते युगे,इस सत्ययुगके समाप्त हो जानेपर नानावेषधारी असंख्य भिक्षुक प्रकट हो जायँगे और लोग आश्रमोंके स्वरूपकी विभिन्न मनमानी कल्पना करने लगेंगे
asaṅkhyātā bhaviṣyanti bhikṣavo liṅginaḥ tathā | āśramāṇāṁ vikalpāś ca nivṛtte ’smin kṛte yuge ||
قال إندرا: «عندما ينقضي هذا الكِرِتا (ساتيا) يوغا، سيظهر عدد لا يُحصى من المتسولين والزهاد، كثيرٌ منهم لا يحملون إلا العلامات الظاهرة للزهد؛ وسيشرع الناس في اختراع تنويعات اعتباطية في صور الأشرمات وأنظمتها نفسها.»
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that with the decline from Satya Yuga, dharma becomes obscured: external symbols of holiness multiply while inner discipline weakens, and even established ethical-social frameworks like the āśrama system are reshaped by personal whim rather than śāstric principle.
Indra is describing a future shift in the moral climate after the end of Kṛta Yuga: many will appear as mendicants marked by outward insignia, and society will generate divergent, self-made interpretations of the āśramas, signaling the onset of degeneration in later yugas.