Shloka 25

Cāturāśramya-dharma—Marks of the Four Āśramas (चातुराश्रम्यधर्मः)

Devanagari script

असंख्याता भविष्यन्ति भिक्षवो लिज्लिनस्तथा । आश्रमाणां विकल्पाश्न निवृत्तेडस्मिन्‌ कृते युगे

Transliteration

asaṅkhyātā bhaviṣyanti bhikṣavo liṅginaḥ tathā | āśramāṇāṁ vikalpāś ca nivṛtte ’smin kṛte yuge ||

Translation

Indra nói: “Khi Kṛta (Satya) Yuga này chấm dứt, vô số kẻ khất thực sẽ xuất hiện, nhiều người chỉ khoác lên mình những dấu hiệu bề ngoài của sự xuất gia; và người đời sẽ bắt đầu bịa đặt những biến thể tùy tiện ngay trong hình thức và kỷ luật của các āśrama.”

Word by Word

• असंख्याः: countless
• असंख्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असंख्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भविष्यन्ति: will be / will arise
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: Simple Future (लृट्), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• भिक्षवः: mendicants, beggars
• भिक्षवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• लिङ्गिनः: wearing (religious) marks/garb; of various disguises
• लिङ्गिनः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लिङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: also; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)

• आश्रमाणाम्: of the āśramas (stages/orders of life)
• Type: Noun
• Root: आश्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• विकल्पाः: alternatives; arbitrary variations
• विकल्पाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विकल्प (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निवृत्ते: when (it is) ended/ceased
• निवृत्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निवृत्त (कृदन्त; नि-√वृत्)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अस्मिन्: in this
• अस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• कृते: in the Kṛta (Satya) age
• कृते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृत (प्रातिपदिक; युग-नाम)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• युगे: in the age
• युगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

इन्द्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Kṛta Yuga (Satya Yuga)
• bhikṣus (mendicants)
• āśramas (life-stages/orders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that with the decline from Satya Yuga, dharma becomes obscured: external symbols of holiness multiply while inner discipline weakens, and even established ethical-social frameworks like the āśrama system are reshaped by personal whim rather than śāstric principle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Indra is describing a future shift in the moral climate after the end of Kṛta Yuga: many will appear as mendicants marked by outward insignia, and society will generate divergent, self-made interpretations of the āśramas, signaling the onset of degeneration in later yugas.