Mahabharata 1.173.40 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 173, Shloka 40
कल्माषपाद-शाप-कारणम्
Cause of Kalmāṣapāda’s Niyoga under a Curse
तस्मिंस्तथाविधे काले वर्तमाने सुदारुणे । नावश्याय: पपातोर्व्या तत: सस्यानि नारुहन्,ऐसे भयंकर समयमें पृथ्वीपर ओसकी एक बूँदतक न गिरी। परिणाम यह हुआ कि खेती उगती ही नहीं थी
tasmiṁs tathāvidhe kāle vartamāne sudāruṇe | nāvaśyāyaḥ papātorvyā tataḥ sasyāni nāruhan |
Dijo Vasiṣṭha: «Cuando un tiempo así—tan terrible y opresivo—se abatió, ni una sola gota de rocío cayó sobre la tierra. Por ello, las cosechas no brotaron en absoluto».
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how severe disorder in an age can manifest as ecological collapse: when the sustaining rhythms of nature fail (even dew does not fall), society suffers famine. In Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such breakdown often signals the consequences of adharma and the need to restore righteous order.
Vasiṣṭha describes a terrifying period of drought: the earth receives no dew at all, and therefore crops fail to sprout. The statement functions as a vivid marker of calamity and scarcity within the surrounding account.
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