Shloka 19

इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्

Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration

Devanagari script

ईदृशो भविता लोको युगान्ते पर्युपस्थिते । वस्त्राणां प्रवरा शाणी धान्यानां कोरदूषका:,युगान्तकाल आनेपर लोगोंकी ऐसी ही दशा होगी। वस्त्रोंमें सनके बने हुए वस्त्र अच्छे समझे जायँगे। धानोंमें कोदोका आदर होगा

Transliteration

īdṛśo bhavitā loko yugānte paryupasthite | vastrāṇāṃ pravarā śāṇī dhānyānāṃ koradūṣakāḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: “Apabila penghujung zaman kian mendekat, dunia akan menjadi begini: antara pakaian, kain śāṇī—kain daripada serat rami/lenan—akan dianggap yang paling mulia; dan antara bijirin, millet kasar seperti kodrava akan dipandang tinggi.”

Word by Word

ईदृशःsuch, of this kind

भविताwill be

लोकःthe world/people

युगान्तेat the end of the age

पर्युपस्थितेwhen (it) has arrived/come upon

वस्त्राणाम्of garments

प्रवराthe best, excellent

शाणीhemp/linen cloth (śāṇī)

धान्यानाम्of grains

कोरदूषकाःkodo-millet grains (koradūṣaka-s)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

yuga (age)

śāṇī (hemp/flax linen cloth)

kodrava (kodo millet)

ūṣaka (coarse grain)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse signals that at the yuga’s end, material scarcity and moral weakening distort social standards: what is ordinarily considered inferior becomes celebrated as ‘best,’ revealing a deeper decline in discernment and well-being.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing symptoms of the approaching yuga-end (yugānta), giving prophetic markers of societal conditions—specifically, the reduced quality of clothing and food that people will nonetheless praise due to changed circumstances.