Shloka 53
Śakuntalā-Janma-Nāmakaraṇa (Birth and Naming of Śakuntalā) | शकुन्तला-जन्म-नामकरणम्
प्रजानामन्नकामानामन्योन्यपरिभक्षणात् | अधर्मस्तत्र संजात: सर्वभूतविनाशक:,तदनन्तर एक समय ऐसा आया, जब प्रजा भूखसे पीड़ित हो भोजनकी इच्छासे एक-दूसरेको मारकर खाने लगी, उस समय वहाँ अधर्म प्रकट हुआ, जो समस्त प्राणियोंका नाश करनेवाला है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | prajānām annakāmānām anyonya-paribhakṣaṇāt | adharmas tatra sañjātaḥ sarvabhūta-vināśakaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: When the people, tormented by hunger and craving food, began to devour one another, adharma arose there—an evil that brings about the destruction of all living beings.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When basic needs like food are pursued without restraint, society can cross moral boundaries; such transgression is described as adharma, which spreads destructively and threatens the welfare of all beings.
A time of severe famine or hunger arises; driven by the desire for food, people begin to kill and eat one another. This extreme breakdown is presented as the moment when adharma manifests, characterized as universally ruinous.