Shloka 52
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
तदा च पृथिवीपाल यो भवेद् धर्मसंयुतः । अल्पायु: स हि मन्तव्यो न हि धर्मो5स्ति कश्नन,भूपाल! उस समय जो भी धर्ममें तत्पर रहेगा, उसकी आयु बहुत थोड़ी देखनेमें आयेगी; क्योंकि उस समय कोई भी धर्म टिक नहीं सकेगा
tadā ca pṛthivīpāla yo bhaved dharmasaṃyutaḥ | alpāyuḥ sa hi mantavyo na hi dharmo 'sti kaścana bhūpāla ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: “E então, ó rei, quem quer que, entre os governantes, permaneça firmemente unido ao dharma será tido por de vida breve; pois naquele tempo nenhum dharma perdurará.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When society enters a period where dharma no longer holds, even those who remain righteous—especially rulers—become vulnerable; righteousness is portrayed as difficult to sustain and even life-shortening in an age of widespread adharma.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a future or deteriorated time in which moral order collapses. Addressing a king, he states that a dharmic ruler will appear short-lived because dharma itself will not persist in that era.