Shloka 32
वेन-पृथु-प्रादुर्भावः, राजधर्मः, पृथिवीदोहनम्
Vena–Pṛthu Episode and the Milking of Earth
तेषाम् उदीर्णवेगानां चौराणां मुनिसत्तमाः सुमहान् दृश्यते रेणुः परवित्तापहारिणाम्
teṣām udīrṇavegānāṃ caurāṇāṃ munisattamāḥ sumahān dṛśyate reṇuḥ paravittāpahāriṇām
Wahai resi termulia, apabila para pencuri—perampas harta orang lain—bergerak dengan kelajuan yang memuncak, kelihatanlah awan debu yang amat besar terangkat oleh mereka.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: How severe was the disorder, and what did it look like?
Teaching: Historical
Quality: authoritative
FAQs
The verse uses vivid, worldly imagery—thieves raising a great dust-cloud—to signal rampant lawlessness and the visibility of adharma spreading through society.
Parāśara frames disorder as a symptom of declining dharma: when people take others’ wealth, the disturbance becomes unmistakable—like dust thrown up by fast-moving raiders.
Though not named in this line, the Purana’s underlying theology presents Vishnu as the supreme regulator of cosmic order; descriptions of adharma implicitly highlight the need for restoration of dharma under the Lord’s sovereignty.