Shloka 21
Rājā–Rāja-Śabda-Prabhavaḥ — The Origin and Rationale of Kingship and Daṇḍanīti
विप्लुते नरलोके वै ब्रह्म चैव ननाश ह । नाशाच्च ब्रह्मणो राजन् धर्मो नाशमथागमत्,इस प्रकार मनुष्यलोकमें धर्मका विप्लव हो जानेपर वेदोंके स्वाध्यायका भी लोप हो गया। राजन! वैदिक ज्ञानका लोप होनेसे यज्ञ आदि कर्मोंका भी नाश हो गया
bhīṣma uvāca | viplute naraloke vai brahma caiva nanāśa ha | nāśāc ca brahmaṇo rājan dharmo nāśam athāgamat |
മനുഷ്യലോകം കലാപത്തിൽ മുങ്ങിയപ്പോൾ ബ്രഹ്മം—വേദവിദ്യ തന്നെ—നശിച്ചു. ഹേ രാജൻ, ബ്രഹ്മം നശിച്ചതോടെ ധർമ്മവും നാശത്തിലേക്ക് വീണു.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma links societal upheaval to the collapse of Vedic learning, and from that collapse to the ruin of dharma: when the sources of right understanding and disciplined practice disappear, ethical order in society cannot be sustained.
In the Shanti Parva dialogue, Bhishma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he explains a causal chain: human society falls into disorder, Vedic study and sacred knowledge decline, and consequently dharma itself deteriorates.