Shloka 7

Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)

Devanagari script

बहुमायासमाकीर्णो नानादोषसमाकुल: । लुप्तधर्मक्रियाचारो घोर: कालो भविष्यति,“अब ऐसा भयंकर समय आयेगा, जिसमें सब ओर छल-कपट और मायाका बोलबाला होगा। संसारमें अनेक प्रकारके दोष प्रकट होंगे और धर्म-कर्म तथा सदाचारका लोप हो जायगा”

Transliteration

bahumāyāsamākīrṇo nānādoṣasamākulaḥ | luptadharmakriyācāro ghoraḥ kālo bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Es wird ein schreckliches Zeitalter kommen—überall von Trug und Blendwerk durchdrungen, angefüllt mit vielerlei Fehlern. Die Ausübung des Dharma—Ritus, Pflicht und rechte Lebensführung—wird schwinden, und die Gesellschaft verliert ihren moralischen Halt.“

Word by Word

बहुmany/much

मायाby/with deceits, illusions

समाकीर्णःfilled, pervaded

नानाvarious

दोषby/with faults, vices

समाकुलःconfused, disturbed, full (of)

लुप्तlost, vanished

धर्मof dharma (righteousness)

क्रियाof rites/actions

आचारःconduct, practice

घोरःterrible, dreadful

कालःtime, age

भविष्यतिwill be

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kāla (Time/Age)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when deception (māyā) and moral faults (doṣa) dominate, dharma is not merely debated but practically lost: ritual responsibility (kriyā) and ethical conduct (ācāra) collapse together. It frames ethical vigilance as necessary because social order depends on lived practice, not slogans.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a prophetic description of a coming age characterized by widespread trickery and the erosion of dharmic life. The statement functions as a moral forecast within the epic’s larger reflection on how Time (kāla) brings degeneration in human conduct.