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 dit : «Lorsque l’injustice prévaut, les Veda semblent cachés, et les devoirs védiques—ainsi que les āśrama, les ordres de vie établis—s’obscurcissent. Alors même les êtres qui demeurent d’ordinaire dans leur nature et leur devoir propres, qu’ils soient immobiles ou mobiles, se trouvent déformés hors de leur dharma ; un désordre moral et naturel se répand partout.»
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.