Shloka 32
तेषाम् उदीर्णवेगानां चौराणां मुनिसत्तमाः सुमहान् दृश्यते रेणुः परवित्तापहारिणाम्
teṣām udīrṇavegānāṃ caurāṇāṃ munisattamāḥ sumahān dṛśyate reṇuḥ paravittāpahāriṇām
O best of sages, as those thieves—plunderers of others’ wealth—rush onward with heightened speed, a vast cloud of dust is seen rising, stirred up by them.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How severe was the disorder, and what did it look like?
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
FAQs
The verse uses vivid, worldly imagery—thieves raising a great dust-cloud—to signal rampant lawlessness and the visibility of adharma spreading through society.
Parāśara frames disorder as a symptom of declining dharma: when people take others’ wealth, the disturbance becomes unmistakable—like dust thrown up by fast-moving raiders.
Though not named in this line, the Purana’s underlying theology presents Vishnu as the supreme regulator of cosmic order; descriptions of adharma implicitly highlight the need for restoration of dharma under the Lord’s sovereignty.