Shloka 21
कलौ धर्मसुलभता — व्यासोपाख्यानम् एवं संकीर्तन-प्रधानता
असम्यक्करणे दोषस् तेषां सर्वेषु वस्तुषु भोज्यपेयादिकं चैषां नेच्छाप्राप्तिकरं द्विजाः
asamyakkaraṇe doṣas teṣāṃ sarveṣu vastuṣu bhojyapeyādikaṃ caiṣāṃ necchāprāptikaraṃ dvijāḥ
When actions are performed without due care and right method, fault taints everything they do; even their food and drink fail to yield the satisfaction they desire, O twice-born ones.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya; vocative 'dvijāḥ' used as a general address to the twice-born)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How improper method (asamyak-karaṇa) vitiates all acts and even removes satisfaction from food and drink
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: analytical, instructive
Concept: When actions are done without right procedure and attentiveness, doṣa pervades them, and even ordinary enjoyments fail to yield contentment.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Cultivate ‘right means’—attention, ethics, and correctness—in work and worship; quality of intention and method shapes inner peace.
Vishishtadvaita: Because the self is a responsible agent under the Lord’s governance, negligence in karma disrupts harmony with that order and naturally yields inner unrest.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
It is presented as a hallmark of Kali-yuga: when people act without right method and discipline, defects permeate all outcomes, producing dissatisfaction even in basic necessities like food and drink.
He links it to flawed performance of duties—when conduct and practice are corrupted, the ordinary fruits of life no longer yield the desired fulfillment, reflecting a deeper collapse of dharma.
By highlighting Kali-yuga’s disorder and dissatisfaction, the text implicitly points toward Vishnu as the sustaining Supreme Reality whose dharma restores order and whose refuge grants lasting fulfillment beyond transient pleasures.