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 |
ಯುಗಯುಗವಾಗಿ ಕಾಲ ಸಾಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಂತೆ ವೇದವಾಣಿ ಹಾಸ್ಯದ ವಿಷಯವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ ಎಂದು ನಾವು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ಮಾನವರ ಆಯುಷ್ಯ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ; ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಇಷ್ಟಸಿದ್ಧಿಗಳು ಅಡ್ಡಿಯಾಗುತ್ತವೆ; ವೇದಾಧ್ಯಯನ ಹಾಗೂ ಅನುಷ್ಠಾನದ ಫಲವೂ ಕ್ಷೀಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ.
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.