Shloka 30
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
सहस्रान्ते नरा: सर्वे प्रायशो5नृतवादिन: । यज्ञप्रतिनिधि: पार्थ दानप्रतिनिधिस्तथा
sahasrānte narāḥ sarve prāyaśo 'nṛtavādinaḥ | yajñapratinidhiḥ pārtha dānapratinidhis tathā ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Pada penghujung seribu tahun, hampir semua manusia cenderung menjadi pengucap dusta. Pada masa demikian, wahai Pārtha, yajña pun tinggal sebagai pengganti belaka, dan dana (derma) pun hanya menjadi pengganti.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that as moral order declines over long cycles of time, truthfulness erodes and even sacred practices like sacrifice and charity risk becoming mere outward substitutes—performed in form but lacking the genuine inner integrity that gives them ethical value.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, addresses Pārtha (Arjuna) and comments on a degenerative phase of time: people largely speak untruth, and religious-ethical acts such as yajña and dāna are reduced to proxy or token versions rather than authentic, dharma-rooted conduct.