Shloka 48
इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्
Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration
परमायुश्च भविता तदा वर्षाणि षोडश । ततः प्राणान् विमोक्ष्यन्ति युगान्ते समुपस्थिते,उस समय युगान्तकाल उपस्थित होनेपर लोगोंकी आयु अधिक-से-अधिक सोलह वर्षकी होगी, उसके बाद वे प्राणत्याग कर देंगे। पाँचवें या छठे वर्षमें स्त्रियाँ बच्चे पैदा करने लगेंगी और सात-आठ वर्षके पुरुष संतानोत्पादनमें प्रवृत्त हो जायँगे
paramāyuś ca bhavitā tadā varṣāṇi ṣoḍaśa | tataḥ prāṇān vimokṣyanti yugānte samupasthite ||
Mārkaṇḍeya disse: “Então o tempo máximo de vida será de apenas dezesseis anos. Quando chegar o fim da era, as pessoas largarão o sopro vital e morrerão. Nesse tempo, meninas começarão a dar à luz no quinto ou sexto ano, e meninos se voltarão a gerar descendência no sétimo ou oitavo ano.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the power of Kāla (time) and the degeneration at the end of an age: human life becomes drastically shortened and social/biological maturity is unnaturally accelerated, highlighting impermanence and the ethical warning of decline in yuga-ending conditions.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing the conditions at yugānta (the end of the age), prophesying that people will live at most sixteen years and die when the age-ending crisis arrives; the accompanying note explains premature childbearing as a sign of that extreme degeneration.