Shloka 38
Adhyāya 283: Varṇa-vṛtti, Nyāya-ārjana, and the Decline-and-Restoration of Dharma (वर्णवृत्तिः न्यायार्जनं च)
पर्वताश्च व्यशीर्यन्त चकम्पे च वसुंधरा । मास्ताश्रैव घूर्णन्ते चुक्षुभे वरुणालय:
parvatāś ca vyaśīryanta cakampe ca vasuṃdharā | mārutāś caiva ghūrṇante cukṣubhe varuṇālayaḥ ||
மலைகள் சிதைந்து நொறுங்கின; வஸுந்தரா நடுங்கியது. சுழற்காற்றுகள் எழுந்தன; வருணனின் ஆலயமான கடல் கடுமையாகக் கொந்தளித்தது.
दक्ष उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse conveys that moral and ritual disorder (adharma, especially within a yajña) has world-shaking consequences: nature reflects the disturbance, serving as an ethical warning that violations of sacred order destabilize society and the cosmos.
Dakṣa describes terrifying portents at the sacrificial gathering: mountains crumble, the earth quakes, winds whirl, and the ocean churns—signs that the sacrifice has been overwhelmed by a great, fearsome upheaval, leaving even the assembled beings distressed.