Shloka 40

Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)

Devanagari script

ऋषयो न प्रकाशन्ते न देवा न च मानुषा: । एवं तु तिमिरीभूते निर्दहन्त्यपमानिता:

Transliteration

ṛṣayo na prakāśante na devā na ca mānuṣāḥ | evaṃ tu timirībhūte nirdahanty apamānitāḥ ||

Translation

ઋષિઓ દેખાતા ન હતા, ન દેવતાઓ, ન માનવો. આ રીતે સર્વત્ર અંધકાર છવાઈ ગયો ત્યારે અપમાનિત થયેલાઓએ પ્રતિશોધમાં દહન શરૂ કર્યું.

Word by Word

• ऋषयः: sages
• ऋषयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• प्रकाशन्ते: appear / are seen / shine forth
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रकाश्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Atmanepada, Third, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• देवाः: gods
• देवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मानुषाः: humans
• मानुषाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मानुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एवम्: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• तु: but / indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• तिमिरीभूते: when it had become dark / in darkness
• तिमिरीभूते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तिमिरीभूत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• निर्दहन्ति: they burn / set on fire
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्दह्
• Form: Present, Indicative, Parasmaipada, Third, Plural

• अपमानिताः: insulted / dishonoured
• अपमानिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपमानित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

दक्ष उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dakṣa
• ṛṣayaḥ (seers)
• devāḥ (gods)
• mānuṣāḥ (humans)
• apamānitāḥ (the insulted ones; contextually Rudra’s attendants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical danger of humiliation and disrespect: when honour is violated, disorder spreads and destructive retaliation can follow, obscuring clarity and harming the wider community.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dakṣa describes a sudden, all-encompassing darkness in which sages, gods, and humans are no longer seen; in that chaos, the insulted party (understood in context as Rudra’s attendants) begins setting things ablaze.