Shloka 26
आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self
वेदवादाश्वानुयुगं हसन्तीतीह न: श्रुतम् । आयूंषि चाशिषश्चैव वेदस्यैव च यत्फलम्
vyāsa uvāca | vedavādāśvānuyugaṃ hasantītiha naḥ śrutam | āyūṃṣi cāśiṣaś caiva vedasyaiva ca yat phalam |
ヴィヤーサは言った。「この世では、時代が進むにつれてヴェーダの宣言さえ嘲られるようになる、と我らは聞いている。人の寿命は短くなり、祝福や望みの成就には障りが生じ、ヴェーダを学び実践する果報すら減っていく。この教えは、後のユガにおける道徳の衰微を示し、力が弱まる中にあってもダルマに堅く立つべきことを説く。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
As time moves through successive yugas, human capacity and reverence for Vedic dharma weaken: lifespans shorten, blessings and aims are harder to realize, and the spiritual efficacy (phala) of Vedic study and observance is experienced as diminished. The implied counsel is to persist in dharma even amid decline.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma and the conditions of different ages, Vyāsa states a traditional observation about yuga progression: later ages bring reduced longevity and reduced effectiveness of Vedic practice, along with social ridicule of Vedic teachings.