Shloka 39

इन्द्रद्युम्नोपाख्यानम्

Indradyumna Upākhyāna: On Kīrti, Smṛti, and Restoration

Devanagari script

सत्य॑ संक्षिप्यते लोके नरै: पण्डितमानिभि: । स्थविरा बालमतयो बाला: स्थविरबुद्धयः,अपनेको पण्डित माननेवाले मुनष्य संसारमें सत्यको मिटा देंगे। बूढ़ोंकी बुद्धि बालकों- जैसी होगी और बालकोंकी बूढ़ों-जैसी

Transliteration

satyaṃ saṃkṣipyate loke naraiḥ paṇḍitamānibhiḥ | sthavirā bālamatayo bālāḥ sthavirabuddhayaḥ ||

Translation

மார்கண்டேயர் கூறினார்—தம்மை அறிஞர் எனப் பெருமைப்படுவோர் உலகில் சத்தியத்தைச் சுருக்கி அழித்துவிடுவர். முதியோரின் சிந்தனை குழந்தைகள்போல் இருக்கும்; குழந்தைகளுக்கு முதியோரின் தீர்மானம் இருக்கும்।

Word by Word

सत्यम्truth

संक्षिप्यतेis curtailed/abridged

लोकेin the world

नरैःby men

पण्डितमानिभिःby those who think themselves learned

स्थविराःold men/elders

बालमतयःof childish intellect

बालाःchildren

स्थविरबुद्धयःof old-man-like understanding

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when people become proud of learning without integrity, truth (satya) is reduced and distorted. It critiques intellectual vanity and points to a moral inversion where genuine discernment is lost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a degeneration of social and moral order—an age in which truth is suppressed by pretenders to wisdom, and normal markers of maturity and judgment become confused.