Shloka 24
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
श्राद्धे दैवे च पुरुषा येडपि नित्यं धृतव्रता: । तेडपि लोभसमायुक्ता भोक्ष्यन्तीह परस्परम्,जो सदा (परान्नका त्याग करके) व्रतका पालन करनेवाले लोग हैं, वे भी उस समय लोभवश देवयज्ञ तथा श्राद्धमें एक-दूसरेके यहाँ भोजन करेंगे
śrāddhe daive ca puruṣā ye 'pi nityaṃ dhṛtavratāḥ | te 'pi lobhasamāyuktā bhokṣyantīha parasparam ||
Disse Mārkaṇḍeya: “Até mesmo os homens sempre firmes em seus votos—que regularmente observam as oferendas aos deuses e o śrāddha (rito aos ancestrais)—quando esse tempo chegar serão tomados pela cobiça e comerão nas casas uns dos outros.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that in times of moral decline, even disciplined, vow-keeping people can be overtaken by greed, causing ritual life (deva-yajña and śrāddha) to lose its purity and become driven by self-interest and social convenience.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a deteriorating age in which customary religious observances continue outwardly, but the inner motive shifts: people—even the devout—end up eating reciprocally at each other’s homes out of greed, signaling a corruption of intention behind sacred rites.