Shloka 61

Devanagari script

भवन्ति षोडशे वर्षे नरा: पलितिनस्तथा । आयु:क्षयो मनुष्याणां क्षिप्रमेव प्रपद्यते,सोलहवें वर्षमें मनुष्योंक बाल पक जायँगे और उनकी आयु शीघ्र ही समाप्त हो जायगी

Transliteration

bhavanti ṣoḍaśe varṣe narāḥ palitinastathā | āyuḥ-kṣayo manuṣyāṇāṃ kṣipram eva prapadyate ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Sa ika-labing-anim na taon, ang mga lalaki ay magiging ubanin na; at ang haba ng buhay ng tao ay mabilis na liliit at agad na magwawakas.”

Word by Word

भवन्तिbecome/come to be

षोडशेin (the) sixteenth

वर्षेyear

नराःmen/people

पलितिनःgrey-haired

तथाthus/also

आयुःlifespan

क्षयःdecay/diminution

मनुष्याणाम्of humans

क्षिप्रम्quickly

एवindeed/just

प्रपद्यतेattains/comes to (a state)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

narāḥ (human beings)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches impermanence and the ethical warning of societal decline: when dharma weakens, human vitality diminishes—symbolized by premature greying and shortened lifespan—urging vigilance, restraint, and righteous living.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing ominous characteristics of a deteriorating age, presenting a prophecy-like depiction where human life becomes frail and brief, marking the broader theme of degeneration in later times.