Shloka 24
Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)
तस्मिन् प्रतिभये काले क्षते धर्मे युधिष्ठिर । बभूवु: क्षुधिता मर्त्या: खादमाना: परस्परम्,युधिष्ठिर! ऐसे भयंकर समयमें धर्मका नाश हो जानेके कारण भूखसे पीड़ित हुए मनुष्य एक-दूसरेको खाने लगे
tasmin pratibhaye kāle kṣate dharme yudhiṣṭhira | babhūvuḥ kṣudhitā martyāḥ khādamānāḥ parasparam ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Hỡi Yudhiṣṭhira, khi thời khắc kinh hoàng ấy đến và dharma bị nghiền nát, loài người bị hành hạ bởi đói khát đã sa đến mức ăn thịt lẫn nhau.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
When dharma (the sustaining moral and social order) collapses, human life degenerates into survival without restraint; hunger and fear can drive people to acts that violate the most basic ethical boundaries.
Bhīṣma describes to Yudhiṣṭhira a terrifying period of disorder: with dharma ruined, people become so starved that they begin to devour one another, illustrating extreme societal breakdown.