Shloka 316

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

क्षत्रधर्मेण वाप्यत्र वर्तयन्ति गते युगे । युगकी समाप्तिके समय ब्राह्मण शूद्रोंके कर्म करते हैं और शाद्र वैश्योंकी भाँति धनोपार्जन करने लगते हैं अथवा क्षत्रियोंके कर्मसे जीविका चलाने लगते हैं

Transliteration

kṣatradharmeṇa vāpy atra vartayanti gate yuge |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“在此处，当一个时代已逝、一个劫（yuga）行将终结之时，人们开始以承担刹帝利（kṣatriya）之职分来维持生计——这正是既定的社会与伦理秩序（varṇa-dharma）崩解、诸职分相互混杂的征兆；而那秩序本应规范人们的生业与行止。”

Word by Word

क्षत्रधर्मेणby/through the kshatriya-duty

वाor

अपिalso/even

अत्रhere/in this context

वर्तयन्तिthey conduct/they practice

गतेwhen (it is) gone/passed

युगेin the age (yuga)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse points to yuga-end disorder: when the age declines, people abandon their prescribed duties and livelihoods, taking up kṣatriya-style means of living—an ethical warning about the erosion of dharma and social responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing characteristics of a deteriorating time-cycle (yuga), where customary role-based conduct no longer holds and livelihoods shift toward kṣatriya modes, reflecting instability in society.