Shloka 52
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
तदा च पृथिवीपाल यो भवेद् धर्मसंयुतः । अल्पायु: स हि मन्तव्यो न हि धर्मो5स्ति कश्नन
tadā ca pṛthivīpāla yo bhaved dharmasaṃyutaḥ | alpāyuḥ sa hi mantavyo na hi dharmo 'sti kaścana bhūpāla ||
Dijo Vaiśaṃpāyana: «Y entonces, oh rey, a quienquiera de los gobernantes que permanezca firmemente unido al dharma se le tendrá por de vida breve; pues en ese tiempo ningún dharma perdurará».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When society enters a period where dharma no longer holds, even those who remain righteous—especially rulers—become vulnerable; righteousness is portrayed as difficult to sustain and even life-shortening in an age of widespread adharma.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a future or deteriorated time in which moral order collapses. Addressing a king, he states that a dharmic ruler will appear short-lived because dharma itself will not persist in that era.