Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 58
Yuga-Dharma Framework, Kali-Yuga Diagnosis, and the Hari-Nāma Remedy
Transition to Vedānta Inquiry
धर्मविध्वंसशीलानां द्विजानां द्विजसत्तम । शूद्रा धर्मान्प्रवक्ष्यंतिह्यधिरुह्योत्तमासनम् ॥ ५८ ॥
dharmavidhvaṃsaśīlānāṃ dvijānāṃ dvijasattama | śūdrā dharmānpravakṣyaṃtihyadhiruhyottamāsanam || 58 ||
हे द्विजश्रेष्ठ! जेव्हा द्विज धर्माचा विध्वंस करण्याकडे प्रवृत्त होतील, तेव्हा शूद्रच उत्तम आसनावर आरूढ होऊन धर्म सांगू लागतील.
Sanatkumara (teaching Narada)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It warns that when those entrusted with preserving dharma abandon it, moral and spiritual authority becomes inverted—an indicator of dharma’s decline and a call for self-correction among the learned.
Indirectly, it highlights that external status and “seats of authority” are unreliable in times of decline; seekers should anchor themselves in genuine sādhana and devotion to the Lord rather than mere social prestige.
No specific Vedanga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught in this verse; it is primarily a dharma-diagnostic statement about who upholds or distorts dharma in an age of decline.