Shloka 22
Vyādha–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Śāpa, Vṛtta-Dharma, and Counsel Against Viṣāda
Grief
नैव यज्ञक्रिया: क॒श्रिन्न श्राद्ध नोपवासकम्
naiva yajñakriyāḥ kaścin na śrāddhaṃ nopavāsakam
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “Here, no one performs sacrificial rites; nor is there any offering of śrāddha for the departed, nor even the observance of fasting.” The statement underscores a collapse of customary dharmic disciplines—ritual duty, ancestral obligation, and self-restraint—signaling moral and religious neglect in the setting being described.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that dharma is sustained not only by grand ideals but also by regular disciplines—sacrificial duty, honoring ancestors through śrāddha, and self-restraint through fasting. Their absence indicates ethical and religious negligence.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a situation (or region/age) characterized by the non-performance of key religious practices—no yajña-rites, no śrāddha, and no fasting—thereby portraying a breakdown of customary dharmic life.