Shloka 20
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
भायमित्राश्व पुरुषा भविष्यन्ति युगक्षये । मत्स्यामिषेण जीवन्तो दुहन्तश्चाप्पजैडकम्,उस युगक्षयके समय पुरुष केवल स्त्रियोंसे ही मित्रता करनेवाले होंगे। कितने ही लोग मछलीके मांससे जीविका चलायेंगे। गायोंके नष्ट हो जानेके कारण मनुष्य भेड़ और बकरीका भी दूध दुहकर पीयेंगे। जो लोग सदा व्रत धारण करके रहनेवाले हैं, वे भी युगान्त कालमें लोभी हो जायँगे
bhāryā-mitrāś ca puruṣā bhaviṣyanti yugakṣaye | matsyāmiṣeṇa jīvanto duhantaś cāpy ajāḍakam ||
Disse Mārkaṇḍeya: “Na dissolução da era, os homens tratarão suas esposas como as companheiras e aliadas mais próximas. Muitos se sustentarão da carne de peixe, e, quando as vacas tiverem desaparecido, as pessoas até ordenharão cabras e ovelhas para beber. Mesmo aqueles que antes viviam de votos constantes tornar-se-ão gananciosos nesse tempo derradeiro.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse portrays yuga-kṣaya as a time when dharma weakens: basic social bonds and livelihoods shift toward expediency, scarcity alters customary norms (like reliance on cow’s milk), and even vowed, disciplined people succumb to greed—warning that inner restraint is the true safeguard of ethics.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing future conditions at the end of an age: men’s relationships and social priorities change, many live by fishing and eating fish-meat, cows become unavailable, and people turn to milking goats and sheep; the description culminates in the moral point that even habitual observers of vows become avaricious.