Shloka 42

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

अट्टशूला जनपदा: शिवशूलाश्षतुष्पथा: । केशशूला: स्त्रियो राजन्‌ भविष्यन्ति युगक्षये,नरव्याप्र! इसी प्रकार रसीले पदार्थभी जैसे चाहिये वैसे स्वादिष्ट नहीं होंगे। राजन्‌! उस समयकी स्त्रियाँ नाटे कदकी और बहुत संतान (बच्चा) पैदा करनेवाली होंगी। उनमें शील और सदाचारका अभाव होगा। युगान्तकालमें स्त्रियाँ मुखसे भगसम्बन्धी यानी व्यभिचारकी ही बातें करनेवाली होंगी। राजन! युगान्त-कालमें हर देशके लोग अन्न बेचनेवाले होंगे। ब्राह्मण वेद बेचनेवाले तथा (प्रायः) स्त्रियाँ वेश्यावृत्तिको अपनानेवाली होंगी-

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | aṭṭaśūlā janapadāḥ śivaśūlāś catuṣpathāḥ | keśaśūlāḥ striyo rājan bhaviṣyanti yugakṣaye naravyāghra |

Translation

毗舍波耶那说道：“到劫末之时，噢，大王——噢，人中之虎——诸国将如同被锐桩刺穿；连四衢要道也会竖起不祥的‘湿婆之矛’为记。妇女亦将受苦，仿佛为‘发所刺’，多遭疾厄。此乃劫尽之际，世间德行崩坏的惨烈征兆。”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'vaiśampāyana uvāca', 'definition': 'Vaiśampāyana said (narrator’s speech marker)'}, {'term': 'aṭṭaśūlāḥ', 'definition': 'pierced/impaled with stakes

• afflicted as if by sharp spears (figurative of widespread suffering)'}, {'term': 'janapadāḥ', 'definition': 'countries, realms, territories, communities'}, {'term': 'śivaśūlāḥ', 'definition': '‘Śiva-spears’

• ominous tridents/spears associated with Rudra/Śiva (portent-like imagery)'}, {'term': 'catuṣpathāḥ', 'definition': 'four-way crossings, crossroads'}, {'term': 'keśaśūlāḥ', 'definition': 'hair-stung/hair-tormented

• afflicted in relation to hair (a metaphor for distress/degeneration)'}, {'term': 'striyaḥ', 'definition': 'women'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O king (vocative)'}, {'term': 'bhaviṣyanti', 'definition': 'will become, will be'}, {'term': 'yugakṣaye', 'definition': 'at the end of the yuga/age'}, {'term': 'naravyāghra', 'definition': 'O tiger among men (honorific address to a heroic king)'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Rājan (the king addressed)
• Śiva (as implied by śivaśūla)
• janapada (realms/territories)
• catuṣpatha (crossroads)
• śūla (spear/stake)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses stark, symbolic imagery to warn that when dharma declines, suffering spreads through society and even ordinary public spaces become marked by fear and disorder—an ethical reminder to uphold right conduct before degeneration becomes pervasive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, describes ominous conditions expected at the yuga’s end, addressing a king (‘naravyāghra’) and listing societal and environmental portents that signal widespread breakdown of order.