न वश्चित् कस्यचिच्छोता न कश्चित् कस्यचिद् गुरु: । तमोग्रस्तस्तदा लोको भविष्यति जनाधिप,राजन! उस समय कोई किसीका उपदेश नहीं सुनेगा और न कोई किसीका गुरु ही होगा। सारा जगत् अज्ञानमय अन्धकारसे आच्छादित हो जायगा
na vaścit kasyacic chrotā na kaścit kasyacid guruḥ | tamograstas tadā loko bhaviṣyati janādhipa rājan |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O king, lord of men—at that time no one will listen to anyone’s counsel, and no one will be anyone’s teacher. The whole world will become overwhelmed by darkness, shrouded in the ignorance that makes guidance and discipline impossible.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
When society loses the willingness to listen (śrotā) and the presence/authority of teachers (guru), collective life becomes ‘tamograsta’—engulfed by ignorance—so dharma cannot be transmitted or practiced effectively.
Mārkaṇḍeya addresses a king and foretells a future time of moral and intellectual decline: people will neither accept instruction nor function as guides, and the world will be covered by the darkness of delusion.