Shloka 71
क्षयाच्चैवास्य देवेश प्रजाश्नैव गता: क्षयम् वीरुदोषधयश्नैव बीजानि विविधानि च,“चन्द्रमा क्षीण हो चुके हैं और उनका कुछ ही अंश शेष दिखायी देता है। देवेश्वर! उनके क्षयसे लता, वीरुतू, ओषधियाँ भाँति-भाँतिके बीज और सम्पूर्ण प्रजा भी क्षीण हो गयी है
kṣayāccaivāsya deveśa prajāś caiva gatāḥ kṣayam | vīrud-oṣadhayaś caiva bījāni vividhāni ca ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Lord of the gods, as he wanes, the people too fall into decline. Creepers, grasses, medicinal herbs, and seeds of many kinds likewise waste away.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the world is an interconnected moral-cosmic system: when a sustaining power (here, the moon’s nourishing influence) diminishes, the decline spreads to society and to vegetation, signaling a broader imbalance in order (dharma) and vitality.
Vaiśampāyana describes ominous conditions: the waning of the moon is presented as a portent whose effects are seen in the weakening of people and the withering of plants and seeds—an atmosphere of universal exhaustion surrounding the events of the war.