Shloka 21
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
गोषु नष्टासु पुरुषा येडपि नित्यं धृतव्रता: । तेडपि लोभसमायुक्ता भविष्यन्ति युगक्षये,उस युगक्षयके समय पुरुष केवल स्त्रियोंसे ही मित्रता करनेवाले होंगे। कितने ही लोग मछलीके मांससे जीविका चलायेंगे। गायोंके नष्ट हो जानेके कारण मनुष्य भेड़ और बकरीका भी दूध दुहकर पीयेंगे। जो लोग सदा व्रत धारण करके रहनेवाले हैं, वे भी युगान्त कालमें लोभी हो जायँगे
mārkaṇḍeya uvāca | goṣu naṣṭāsu puruṣā ye ’pi nityaṃ dhṛtavratāḥ | te ’pi lobhasamāyuktā bhaviṣyanti yugakṣaye ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “When the cows have perished, even men who are ever steadfast in their vows will, at the end of the age, become possessed by greed. In that time of dissolution, human conduct will decline—people will form friendships driven chiefly by sensual attachment, many will live by fishing, and with cows gone they will draw and drink the milk of sheep and goats.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that in the degeneration at the end of an age, even disciplined, vow-keeping people can be overtaken by greed; external collapse (like the loss of cows and stable livelihoods) mirrors and accelerates inner ethical decline.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing signs of yuga-kṣaya (the end/decline of an era): social bonds and livelihoods become degraded, and even the traditionally righteous (dhṛtavratāḥ) are predicted to fall into lobha (greed).