Shloka 115
संकरं कांस्यभाण्डैश्व बलिं चैव कुपात्रके: । चातुर्वर्ण्य यदा कृत्स्नममर्यादं भविष्यति
saṅkaraṃ kāṃsyabhāṇḍaiś ca baliṃ caiva kupātrakeḥ | cāturvarṇyaṃ yadā kṛtsnam amaryādaṃ bhaviṣyati ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Quando a ordem social colapsar, haverá mistura indiscriminada e confusão; as oferendas serão feitas em recipientes impróprios, e o tributo será recolhido por mãos indignas. Então toda a ordem quádrupla da sociedade se tornará sem freio, tendo perdido seus limites e padrões.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that when dharma weakens, both ritual practice and social ethics lose their standards: offerings and honors go to unworthy recipients, and the structured responsibilities of the four varṇas become confused and boundaryless.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and governance. Here he describes signs of societal decline—misplaced offerings/tributes and the breakdown of cāturvarṇya—illustrating how disorder manifests when norms (maryādā) are ignored.