Shloka 23

इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्

Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration

Devanagari script

सरित्तीरेषु कुद्दालैर्वापयिष्यन्ति चौषधी: । ताश्चाप्पल्पफलास्तेषां भविष्यन्ति युगक्षये,नदियोंके किनारेकी भूमिको कुदालोंसे खोदकर लोग वहाँ अनाज बोयेंगे। उन अनाजोंमें भी युगान्तकालके प्रभावसे बहुत कम फल लगेंगे

Transliteration

sarittīreṣu kuddālair vāpayiṣyanti cauṣadhīḥ | tāś cāppalpaphalās teṣāṃ bhaviṣyanti yugakṣaye ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “On the banks of rivers, people will dig up the ground with spades and sow crops. Yet, under the oppressive influence of the age’s end, even those crops will yield only scant fruit.” The verse portrays moral and cosmic decline: human effort continues, but nature’s responsiveness diminishes as dharma wanes.

Word by Word

सरित्-तीरेषुon the river-banks

कुद्दालैःwith spades

वापयिष्यन्तिthey will cause to be sown / will sow

चand

औषधीःplants/crops (herbs)

ताःthose (crops)

चand

अल्प-फलाःhaving little fruit/yield

तेषाम्of them (of those people)

भविष्यन्तिwill be/become

युग-क्षयेat the end of the age (yuga)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

riverbanks

spades/hoes (kuddāla)

crops/grains (oṣadhi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

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 teaches that in an age of dharmic decline, outcomes no longer match effort: even diligent labor (digging and sowing) yields meager results, reflecting a broader moral and cosmic imbalance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing signs of the yuga’s end: people cultivate land along rivers by digging with tools and planting crops, but the harvest becomes poor and scant due to the degenerative conditions of the time.