Shloka 18

इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्

Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration

Devanagari script

शूद्रतुल्या भविष्यन्ति तप:सत्यविवर्जिता: । अन्त्या मध्या भविष्यन्ति मध्याश्चान्त्या न संशय:,ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्य--से आपसमें संतानोत्पादन करके वर्णसंकर हो जायाँगे। वे सभी तपस्या और सत्यसे रहित हो शूद्रोंके समान हो जायँगे। अन्त्यज (चाण्डाल आदि) क्षत्रिय-वैश्य आदिके कर्म करेंगे और क्षत्रिय-वैश्य आदि चाण्डालोंके कर्म अपना लेंगे, इसमें संशय नहीं है

Transliteration

śūdratulyā bhaviṣyanti tapaḥ-satya-vivarjitāḥ | antyā madhyā bhaviṣyanti madhyāś cāntyā na saṁśayaḥ ||

Translation

Сказал Маркандея: «Лишённые тапаса и правдивости, люди по поведению уподобятся шудрам. Те, кого считают “низшими”, возьмут занятия “средних”, а “средние” примут работы “низших”,—в этом нет сомнения. Этот отрывок предостерегает о нравственном и общественном перевороте, вызванном утратой тапаса и сатьи, когда смешиваются обязанности и размывается дхарма».

Word by Word

• {'śūdra-tulyāḥ': 'like śūdras

• resembling the śūdra class in condition/behavior', 'bhaviṣyanti': 'they will become

• they will be in the future', 'tapaḥ (tapas)': 'austerity, disciplined effort, ascetic heat

• self-restraint', 'satya': 'truth

• integrity in speech and conduct', 'vivarjitāḥ': 'deprived of

• bereft of', 'antyāḥ': 'the lowest

• those at the end (often implying outcaste groups in later usage)', 'madhyāḥ': 'the middle

• intermediate social groups/orders', 'na saṁśayaḥ': 'no doubt

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that when tapas (self-discipline) and satya (truthfulness) disappear, dharma collapses: social duties become confused, ethical standards fall, and roles invert, symbolizing a broader moral degeneration.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a future decline in societal order: people lacking truth and austerity will behave ignobly, and traditional boundaries of occupation and duty between ‘middle’ and ‘lowest’ groups will be reversed, presented as a sure sign of disorder.