Shloka 7

Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)

Devanagari script

बहुमायासमाकीर्णो नानादोषसमाकुल: । लुप्तधर्मक्रियाचारो घोर: कालो भविष्यति

Transliteration

bahumāyāsamākīrṇo nānādoṣasamākulaḥ | luptadharmakriyācāro ghoraḥ kālo bhaviṣyati ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: “Một thời đại ghê gớm sẽ đến—khắp nơi tràn ngập dối trá và ảo thuật, chen chúc đủ mọi lỗi lầm. Những thực hành của dharma—nghi lễ, bổn phận, và nề nếp đạo hạnh—sẽ dần tiêu tán, và xã hội sẽ đánh mất phương hướng luân lý.”

Word by Word

• बहु: many/much
• बहु: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• माया: by/with deceits, illusions
• माया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• समाकीर्णः: filled, pervaded
• समाकीर्णः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-कीर्ण (√कॄ/कीर्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नाना: various
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नाना
• Form: true

• दोष: by/with faults, vices
• दोष: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दोष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• समाकुलः: confused, disturbed, full (of)
• समाकुलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-कुल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• लुप्त: lost, vanished
• लुप्त: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लुप्त (√लुप्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• धर्म: of dharma (righteousness)
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• क्रिया: of rites/actions
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Singular

• आचारः: conduct, practice
• आचारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आचार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• घोरः: terrible, dreadful
• घोरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कालः: time, age
• कालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भविष्यति: will be
• Type: Verb
• Root: √भू
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kāla (Time/Age)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when deception (māyā) and moral faults (doṣa) dominate, dharma is not merely debated but practically lost: ritual responsibility (kriyā) and ethical conduct (ācāra) collapse together. It frames ethical vigilance as necessary because social order depends on lived practice, not slogans.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana delivers a prophetic description of a coming age characterized by widespread trickery and the erosion of dharmic life. The statement functions as a moral forecast within the epic’s larger reflection on how Time (kāla) brings degeneration in human conduct.