Shloka 25
Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)
असंख्याता भविष्यन्ति भिक्षवो लिज्लिनस्तथा । आश्रमाणां विकल्पाश्न निवृत्तेडस्मिन् कृते युगे
asaṅkhyātā bhaviṣyanti bhikṣavo liṅginaḥ tathā | āśramāṇāṁ vikalpāś ca nivṛtte ’smin kṛte yuge ||
Indra disse: “Quando este Kṛta (Satya) Yuga chegar ao fim, surgirão incontáveis mendicantes, muitos apenas com as marcas exteriores da renúncia; e as pessoas começarão a inventar variações arbitrárias nas próprias formas e disciplinas dos āśramas.”
इन्द्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that with the decline from Satya Yuga, dharma becomes obscured: external symbols of holiness multiply while inner discipline weakens, and even established ethical-social frameworks like the āśrama system are reshaped by personal whim rather than śāstric principle.
Indra is describing a future shift in the moral climate after the end of Kṛta Yuga: many will appear as mendicants marked by outward insignia, and society will generate divergent, self-made interpretations of the āśramas, signaling the onset of degeneration in later yugas.