Shloka 18
Yugapramāṇa–Kaliyuga-lakṣaṇa–Pralaya-kathā
Markandeya’s Account of Yugas, Kali Signs, and Dissolution
न वेत्थ परमं धर्म न चावैषि प्रयोजनम् । बालस्त्वमसि मूढश्न वृद्ध: केनापि हेतुना,उत्तम धर्मका तुम्हें बिलकुल ज्ञान नहीं है। तुम धर्मका प्रयोजन भी नहीं समझते हो। मेरी दृष्टिमें तुम मूढ हो, बालक हो; किसी विशेष कारणसे बूढ़े बने हुए हो अर्थात् केवल अवस्थासे बूढ़े हो
na vettha paramaṃ dharmaṃ na cāvaiṣi prayojanam | bālas tvam asi mūḍhaś ca vṛddhaḥ kenāpi hetunā ||
Gautama said: “You do not know the highest dharma, nor do you understand its purpose. In my view you are foolish—still a child; you have become ‘old’ only for some incidental reason, that is, old merely in years, not in wisdom.”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
True maturity is measured by understanding the highest dharma and its purpose, not by physical age. Without discernment, one may be ‘old’ in years yet remain childish and deluded in judgment.
Gautama addresses an interlocutor with a sharp moral reprimand, accusing him of ignorance of supreme dharma and of failing to grasp why dharma is pursued. The contrast underscores that outward signs (like age) do not guarantee inner ethical insight.