Shloka 24

आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self

Devanagari script

इतरेष्वागमाद्‌ धर्म: पादशस्त्ववरोप्यते । चौर्यकानृतमायाभिर धर्म श्वोपचीयते

Transliteration

itareṣv āgamād dharmaḥ pādaśas tv avaropyate | cauryakānṛtamāyābhir dharmaḥ śvopacīyate ||

Translation

毗耶娑说：在后来的时代里，法（dharma）一步步衰减，仿佛它的每一分之一都被夺去。由于盗窃、虚妄与欺诳，法被贬抑到如犬一般——只以卑下的形态被喂养、勉强维系。

Word by Word

• इतरेषु: among others / in other (teachings)
• इतरेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इतर
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Plural

• आगमात्: from tradition/scripture
• आगमात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आगम
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• धर्मः: dharma / righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पादशः: by quarters / step by step
• पादशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पादशस्

• तु: but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• अवरोप्यते: is diminished / is brought down
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव√रुह्
• Form: Present, Passive, 3rd, Singular

• चौर्य: by theft
• चौर्य: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चौर्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• कानृत: by falsehood
• कानृत: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कानृत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मायाभिः: by deceits / tricks
• मायाभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: माया
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• धर्मः: dharma / righteousness
• धर्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: as if / like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उपचीयते: is heaped up / accumulates
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप√चि
• Form: Present, Passive, 3rd, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• dharma

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Dharma does not collapse all at once; it erodes gradually. When theft, lying, and deceit become common, righteousness survives only in a debased, token form rather than as a guiding moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse on kingship and moral order, Vyāsa comments on the progressive decline of dharma across successive ages, describing how unethical practices steadily lower society’s standards.