Shloka 24
Yugapramāṇa–Kaliyuga-lakṣaṇa–Pralaya-kathā
Markandeya’s Account of Yugas, Kali Signs, and Dissolution
सनत्कुमारं धर्मज्ञ संशयच्छेदनाय वै | स च तेषां वच: श्रुत्वा यथातत्त्वं महातपा: । प्रत्युवाचाथ तानेवं धर्मार्थसहितं वच:,तब गौतमने सदस्यरूपसे बैठे हुए उन श्रेष्ठ मुनियोंसे कहा--*श्रेष्ठ ब्राह्मणो! हम दोनोंके प्रश्षको आपलोग सुनें। अत्रिने राजा पृथुकी विधाता कहा है। इस बातको लेकर हम दोनोंमें महान् संशय एवं विवाद उपस्थित हो गया है।” यह सुनकर वे महात्मा मुनि उक्त संशयका निवारण करनेके लिये तुरंत ही धर्मज्ञ सनत्कुमारजीके पास दौड़े गये। उन महातपस्वीने इनकी सब बातें यथार्थरूपसे सुनकर उनसे यह धर्म एवं अर्थयुक्त वचन कहा --
sanatkumāraṃ dharmajña saṃśayacchedanāya vai | sa ca teṣāṃ vacaḥ śrutvā yathātattvaṃ mahātapāḥ | pratyuvācātha tānevaṃ dharmārthasahitaṃ vacaḥ ||
Gautama said: “For the sake of cutting through their doubt, they approached Sanatkumāra, the knower of dharma. And that great ascetic, having heard their words exactly as they were, replied to them with a statement that was aligned with both righteousness and practical good.”
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
When a moral or doctrinal dispute arises, it should be resolved by approaching a competent authority on dharma, listening carefully to all sides, and giving a response that is both ethically sound (dharma) and practically beneficial (artha).
A doubt has arisen among the sages; to remove it they go to Sanatkumāra. He hears their account truthfully and then begins to answer with a well-reasoned statement grounded in dharma and artha.