Shloka 44
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
ये यवान्ञा जनपदा गोधूमान्नास्तथैव च । तान् देशान् संश्रयिष्यन्ति युगान्ते पर्युपस्थिते,युगान्तकाल आनेपर (लोग) उन प्रदेशोंमें चले जायँगे जहाँ जौ और गेहूँ आदि अनाज अधिक पैदा होते हैं (चाहे वह देश निषिद्ध ही क्यों न हो)
ye yavāñ jānā janapadā godhūmānnās tathaiva ca | tān deśān saṁśrayiṣyanti yugānte paryupasthite ||
Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: “Apabila penghujung zaman semakin hampir, manusia akan mencari perlindungan di wilayah yang kaya dengan barli, gandum dan bijirin lain—walaupun tanah itu pada asalnya terlarang. Dalam saat keruntuhan, desakan untuk terus hidup memaksa masyarakat meninggalkan batas adat dan berhijrah menuju sumber makanan.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, at yugānta (a time of societal and moral breakdown), basic survival needs can override customary prohibitions and social boundaries; people gravitate toward places of food security, revealing the fragility of norms when scarcity intensifies.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing signs of the approaching end of an age: widespread distress and scarcity lead people to migrate and take refuge in grain-rich regions, even if those regions are considered restricted or improper to enter under normal circumstances.