Shloka 22

Vyādha–Brāhmaṇa Saṃvāda: Śāpa, Vṛtta-Dharma, and Counsel Against Viṣāda

Grief

Devanagari script

नैव यज्ञक्रिया: क॒श्रिन्न श्राद्ध नोपवासकम्‌

Transliteration

naiva yajñakriyāḥ kaścin na śrāddhaṃ nopavāsakam

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya nói: “Ở nơi này, không ai cử hành các nghi lễ tế tự; cũng chẳng có lễ śrāddha dâng cho người đã khuất; ngay cả việc trai giới, nhịn ăn cũng không hề được giữ.”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• यज्ञक्रियाः: sacrificial rites
• यज्ञक्रियाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यज्ञक्रिया
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• कश्चित्: anyone/someone
• कश्चित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: कश्चित्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• श्राद्धम्: śrāddha (ancestral rite)
• श्राद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्राद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• उपवासकम्: fasting/observance of a fast
• उपवासकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपवासक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Mārkaṇḍeya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that dharma is sustained not only by grand ideals but also by regular disciplines—sacrificial duty, honoring ancestors through śrāddha, and self-restraint through fasting. Their absence indicates ethical and religious negligence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is describing a situation (or region/age) characterized by the non-performance of key religious practices—no yajña-rites, no śrāddha, and no fasting—thereby portraying a breakdown of customary dharmic life.