Shloka 18

इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्

Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration

Devanagari script

शूद्रतुल्या भविष्यन्ति तप:सत्यविवर्जिता: । अन्त्या मध्या भविष्यन्ति मध्याश्चान्त्या न संशय:,ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्य--से आपसमें संतानोत्पादन करके वर्णसंकर हो जायाँगे। वे सभी तपस्या और सत्यसे रहित हो शूद्रोंके समान हो जायँगे। अन्त्यज (चाण्डाल आदि) क्षत्रिय-वैश्य आदिके कर्म करेंगे और क्षत्रिय-वैश्य आदि चाण्डालोंके कर्म अपना लेंगे, इसमें संशय नहीं है

Transliteration

śūdratulyā bhaviṣyanti tapaḥ-satya-vivarjitāḥ | antyā madhyā bhaviṣyanti madhyāś cāntyā na saṁśayaḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Devoid of austerity and truthfulness, people will come to resemble Śūdras in conduct. Those regarded as ‘lowest’ will take up the occupations of the ‘middle’ orders, and the ‘middle’ will adopt the works of the ‘lowest’—of this there is no doubt. The passage warns of a moral and social inversion driven by the loss of tapas (self-discipline) and satya (truth), resulting in confusion of duties and the erosion of dharma.”

Word by Word

• {'śūdra-tulyāḥ': 'like śūdras

• resembling the śūdra class in condition/behavior', 'bhaviṣyanti': 'they will become

• they will be in the future', 'tapaḥ (tapas)': 'austerity, disciplined effort, ascetic heat

• self-restraint', 'satya': 'truth

• integrity in speech and conduct', 'vivarjitāḥ': 'deprived of

• bereft of', 'antyāḥ': 'the lowest

• those at the end (often implying outcaste groups in later usage)', 'madhyāḥ': 'the middle

• intermediate social groups/orders', 'na saṁśayaḥ': 'no doubt

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that when tapas (self-discipline) and satya (truthfulness) disappear, dharma collapses: social duties become confused, ethical standards fall, and roles invert, symbolizing a broader moral degeneration.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a future decline in societal order: people lacking truth and austerity will behave ignobly, and traditional boundaries of occupation and duty between ‘middle’ and ‘lowest’ groups will be reversed, presented as a sure sign of disorder.