Shloka 58
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
तथा लोभाभिभूताश्न भविष्यन्ति नरा नूप । ब्राह्मणांश्व हनिष्यन्ति ब्राह्मणस्वोपभोगिन:
tathā lobhābhibhūtāś ca bhaviṣyanti narā nṛpa | brāhmaṇāṃś ca haniṣyanti brāhmaṇasvopabhoginaḥ ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “So too, O king, men will become overcome by greed. They will even kill Brahmins, and they will live by consuming what belongs to Brahmins—appropriating their wealth and livelihood.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Greed (lobha) corrodes dharma: when people are dominated by covetousness, they lose reverence for the righteous and commit grave sins—violence against Brahmins and exploitation of their rightful means of living—signaling moral and social collapse.
Mārkaṇḍeya, addressing the king, continues a prophetic description of societal degeneration: he warns that in a coming age people will be driven by greed, leading to persecution of Brahmins and the seizure and enjoyment of Brahmin property.