Shloka 14

Devanagari script

व्याजैर्धर्म चरिष्यन्ति धर्मवैतंसिका नरा: । सत्य॑ संक्षेप्स्यते लोके नरै: पण्डितमानिभि:

Transliteration

vyājair dharmaṁ cariṣyanti dharmavaitāṁsikā narāḥ | satyaṁ saṁkṣepsyate loke naraiḥ paṇḍitamānibhiḥ ||

Translation

Markandeya said: “Men who are mere trimmers and manipulators of dharma will practice righteousness only through pretexts and contrived excuses. In the world, truth itself will be curtailed and compressed by people who merely pride themselves on being ‘learned’.”

Word by Word

व्याजैःby pretexts, by pretences

धर्मम्dharma, righteousness

चरिष्यन्तिwill practice, will conduct (themselves)

धर्मवैतंसिकाःthose who make a show/ornament of dharma (hypocritical moralists)

नराःmen, people

सत्यम्truth

संक्षेप्स्यतेwill be curtailed, will be reduced

लोकेin the world

नरैःby men

पण्डितमानिभिःby those who think themselves learned

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when people treat dharma as a tool for appearances, they justify actions through pretexts rather than integrity; such self-proclaimed ‘wise’ persons end up diminishing truth in society.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a degeneration of conduct: people will outwardly ‘practice dharma’ but only through excuses and legalistic maneuvering, while truthfulness declines under the influence of pretended scholarship.