Shloka 26
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
अशृण्वाना: पुराणानां धर्माणां परमा गती: । उत्पथं प्रतिपत्स्यन्ते काममन्युसमीरिता:
aśṛṇvānāḥ purāṇānāṃ dharmāṇāṃ paramā gatīḥ | utpathaṃ pratipatsyante kāma-manyu-samīritāḥ ||
Indra berkata: “Didorong oleh nafsu dan amarah, manusia akan menempuh jalan sesat. Mereka tidak mau mendengarkan tujuan tertinggi dharma yang diajarkan Purāṇa, maupun buah luhur dari laku benar.”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
When desire (kāma) and anger (manyu) dominate, people stop listening to time-tested dharmic instruction and drift into unethical conduct; attentiveness to sacred tradition is presented as a safeguard against moral deviation.
Indra is warning about a condition of societal decline: people, provoked by passion and wrath, will disregard Purāṇic/ancient dharma and choose the ‘utpatha’ (wrong road), thereby losing the highest benefit that comes from righteous living.