Shloka 7
Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)
बहुमायासमाकीर्णो नानादोषसमाकुल: । लुप्तधर्मक्रियाचारो घोर: कालो भविष्यति
bahumāyāsamākīrṇo nānādoṣasamākulaḥ | luptadharmakriyācāro ghoraḥ kālo bhaviṣyati ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Akan datang suatu zaman yang menggerunkan—di mana tipu daya dan ilusi meresap ke segala penjuru, sarat dengan pelbagai kecacatan. Amalan dharma—ritus, kewajipan, dan tata susila—akan lenyap, dan masyarakat akan kehilangan pedoman moralnya.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that when deception (māyā) and moral faults (doṣa) dominate, dharma is not merely debated but practically lost: ritual responsibility (kriyā) and ethical conduct (ācāra) collapse together. It frames ethical vigilance as necessary because social order depends on lived practice, not slogans.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a prophetic description of a coming age characterized by widespread trickery and the erosion of dharmic life. The statement functions as a moral forecast within the epic’s larger reflection on how Time (kāla) brings degeneration in human conduct.