Shloka 17
Adhyātma-krama: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman Hierarchy and Citta-Prasāda (आध्यात्मक्रमः)
अधर्मान्त्हिता वेदा वेदधर्मास्तथा55 श्रमा: । विक्रियन्ते स्वधर्मस्था: स्थावराणि चराणि च
adharmāntarhitā vedā vedadharmās tathāśramāḥ | vikriyante svadharmasthāḥ sthāvarāṇi carāṇi ca ||
Vyāsa dijo: «Cuando prevalece la injusticia, los Vedas quedan como ocultos, y los deberes védicos—junto con los āśrama, los órdenes establecidos de la vida—se oscurecen. Entonces incluso los seres que suelen permanecer en su propia naturaleza y deber, ya sean inmóviles o móviles, se desvían y se deforman respecto de su dharma; surge en todos un desorden moral y natural que lo invade todo».
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
When adharma dominates, not only human ethics but even the foundations of sacred authority (the Vedas), Vedic duties, and the āśrama-based social-spiritual order become obscured; as a result, beings deviate from their svadharma and widespread distortion arises.
Vyāsa is describing the symptoms of an age or condition of moral collapse: dharma-based institutions and teachings lose visibility and force, and the resulting confusion affects all living beings—immobile and mobile—who no longer remain steady in their proper nature and conduct.