Shloka 42

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

अट्टशूला जनपदा: शिवशूलाश्षतुष्पथा: । केशशूला: स्त्रियो राजन्‌ भविष्यन्ति युगक्षये

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | aṭṭaśūlā janapadāḥ śivaśūlāś catuṣpathāḥ | keśaśūlāḥ striyo rājan bhaviṣyanti yugakṣaye naravyāghra |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «À la fin de l’âge, ô roi —ô tigre parmi les hommes—, des royaumes entiers seront comme transpercés de pieux acérés ; même les carrefours porteront l’empreinte funeste des “lances de Śiva”. Les femmes aussi seront tourmentées, comme piquées par leurs propres cheveux, et frappées d’afflictions. Tels sont les signes cruels de l’effondrement moral du monde à la clôture du yuga.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vaiśampāyana uvāca', 'definition': 'Vaiśampāyana said (narrator’s speech marker)'}, {'term': 'aṭṭaśūlāḥ', 'definition': 'pierced/impaled with stakes

• afflicted as if by sharp spears (figurative of widespread suffering)'}, {'term': 'janapadāḥ', 'definition': 'countries, realms, territories, communities'}, {'term': 'śivaśūlāḥ', 'definition': '‘Śiva-spears’

• ominous tridents/spears associated with Rudra/Śiva (portent-like imagery)'}, {'term': 'catuṣpathāḥ', 'definition': 'four-way crossings, crossroads'}, {'term': 'keśaśūlāḥ', 'definition': 'hair-stung/hair-tormented

• afflicted in relation to hair (a metaphor for distress/degeneration)'}, {'term': 'striyaḥ', 'definition': 'women'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O king (vocative)'}, {'term': 'bhaviṣyanti', 'definition': 'will become, will be'}, {'term': 'yugakṣaye', 'definition': 'at the end of the yuga/age'}, {'term': 'naravyāghra', 'definition': 'O tiger among men (honorific address to a heroic king)'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Rājan (the king addressed)
• Śiva (as implied by śivaśūla)
• janapada (realms/territories)
• catuṣpatha (crossroads)
• śūla (spear/stake)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses stark, symbolic imagery to warn that when dharma declines, suffering spreads through society and even ordinary public spaces become marked by fear and disorder—an ethical reminder to uphold right conduct before degeneration becomes pervasive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, describes ominous conditions expected at the yuga’s end, addressing a king (‘naravyāghra’) and listing societal and environmental portents that signal widespread breakdown of order.