Shloka 13
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
मनुष्याणामनुयुगं हसतीति निबोध मे । राजानो ब्राह्माणा वैश्या: शूद्राश्वैव युधिष्ठिर
manuṣyāṇām anuyugaṁ hasatīti nibodha me | rājāno brāhmaṇā vaiśyāḥ śūdrāś caiva yudhiṣṭhira
Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: “Ketahuilah daripadaku bagaimana, dari satu zaman ke zaman berikutnya, masyarakat manusia menjadi bahan ejekan dan kemerosotan. Wahai Yudhiṣṭhira—raja-raja, brāhmaṇa, vaiśya, dan śūdra, semuanya turut terjerumus dalam corak itu.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mārkaṇḍeya introduces a lesson on how conduct and dharma deteriorate across successive yugas, affecting every social group—rulers and all varṇas—so that society becomes ‘laughable’ due to ethical decline.
In the Vana Parva dialogue, the sage Mārkaṇḍeya addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and begins an explanation about age-by-age degeneration in human society, explicitly naming kings and the four varṇas as participants in this broader historical-moral pattern.