Shloka 20
त्रिवर्गमूलनिश्चयः — Determining the Roots of Dharma, Artha, and Kāma
Mahābhārata, Śānti-parva 123
पेयापेये कुत: सिद्धिर्हिंसन्ति च परस्परम् | गम्यागम्यं तदा नासीत् स्वं परस्वं च वै समम्
peyāpeye kutaḥ siddhir hiṃsanti ca parasparam | gamyāgamyaṃ tadā nāsīt svaṃ parasvaṃ ca vai samam ||
Vasuharoma dit : « Comment, alors, aurait-il pu subsister une règle établie sur ce qu’il est permis de boire ou non ? Les hommes se mirent à se nuire les uns aux autres. En ce temps-là, même la distinction entre ce qu’il était permis d’approcher et ce qu’il ne l’était pas disparut ; le bien d’autrui et le sien furent tenus pour identiques. »
वसुहरोम उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma collapses, even basic moral discriminations (permitted/forbidden, mine/others’) lose force, leading to mutual violence and social breakdown.
Vasuharoma describes a degenerate time in which norms about conduct and consumption no longer hold, people harm each other, and property boundaries are ignored as if all wealth were the same.