Shloka 55
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
ज्ञानानि चाप्यविज्ञाय करिष्यन्ति क्रियास्तथा । आत्मच्छन्देन वर्तन्ते युगान्ते समुपस्थिते,क्रियाके तत््वको न जानकर भी लोग उसे करनेमें प्रवृत्त होंगे। युगानन््तकालके सभी मानव स्वेच्छाचारी हो जायँगे
jñānāni cāpy avijñāya kariṣyanti kriyās tathā | ātmacchandena vartante yugānte samupasthite ||
Mārkaṇḍeya dijo: «Aun sin comprender de verdad los principios del conocimiento, los hombres se precipitarán a realizar ritos y acciones. Y cuando se acerque el fin de la era, vivirán según su propio capricho: indómitos, sin freno, e indiferentes al sentido interior de cuanto hacen.»
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outer action (kriyā), including ritual, becomes ethically hollow when it is not grounded in understanding (jñāna). The verse warns that in an age of decline people will act from personal whim rather than from disciplined adherence to dharma and the inner meaning of conduct.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing signs of yugānta (the end/degeneration of an age): people will continue performing actions and observances, yet without grasping their true purpose, and society will be marked by self-willed behavior and weakening of restraint.