Varaha Purana 68.8: Adhyaya 68, Shloka 8
Dharma Across the Four Yugas, the Disruption of Social Conduct, and Ritual Purification from Varṇa-Mixing Transgressions
राजानो ब्राह्मणान् हिंस्युर्वित्तलोभान्विताः शठाः । अन्त्यजा अपि वैश्यत्वं करिष्यन्ति पणॆ रताः । अभिमानिनो भविष्यन्ति शूद्रजातिषु गर्विताः ॥ ६८.८ ॥
rājāno brāhmaṇān hiṁsyur vittalobhānvitāḥ śaṭhāḥ | antyajā api vaiśyatvaṁ kariṣyanti paṇe ratāḥ | abhimānino bhaviṣyanti śūdrajātiṣu garvitāḥ || 68.8 ||
ధనలోభంతో కూడిన కపట రాజులు బ్రాహ్మణులను హింసిస్తారు. అంత్యజులు కూడా వ్యాపారంలో ఆసక్తితో వైశ్యత్వాన్ని స్వీకరిస్తారు. శూద్రజాతుల్లో వారు అహంకారులు, గర్వితులు అవుతారు.
Varāha (default dialogue framework; explicit speaker not indicated in the fragment)
FAQs
It reflects a common Purāṇic motif describing perceived social and ethical decline (often framed as Kali-yuga characteristics), offering material for historians of ideas on governance, class roles, and moral critique in medieval Sanskrit literature.
No geographic location is named in this verse; the content is socio-ethical rather than topographical.
The verse functions as a warning about the societal consequences of greed, deceit, and ego—especially when rulers and communities abandon restraint and ethical conduct.
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