Shloka 14

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

प्रजानामतिवृद्धानां युगान्ते समुपस्थिते । त्रेताविमोक्षसमये द्वापरप्रतिपादने,त्रेतायुग प्रायः बीत गया था, द्वापरका आरम्भ हो रहा था, प्रजाएँ बहुत बढ़ गयी थीं, जिनके लिये वर्षा बंद हो जानेसे प्रलयकाल-सा उपस्थित हो गया

Transliteration

prajānām ativṛddhānāṁ yugānte samupasthite | tretā-vimokṣa-samaye dvāpara-pratipādane ||

Translation

قال بهيشما: لما حضر انقضاء عصرٍ وتكاثرت الرعية تكاثراً عظيماً—في الوقت الذي كانت فيه تريتا تنقضي ودَفابارا تُستهلّ—نشأت أحوالٌ كأنها انحلالٌ للعالم.

Word by Word

प्रजानाम्of the subjects/creatures

अतिवृद्धानाम्greatly increased

युगान्तेat the end of an age

समुपस्थितेwhen (it) had arrived/was present

त्रेता-विमोक्ष-समयेat the time of release from the Tretā (i.e., at Tretā’s ending)

द्वापर-प्रतिपादनेat the establishment/commencement of Dvāpara

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Tretā-yuga

Dvāpara-yuga

prajāḥ (the people/subjects)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ethical and social crises as arising with the turning of ages: when populations swell and an era declines, disorder and suffering intensify, prompting the need for renewed governance and dharma suited to the new yuga.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma sets the scene for a discourse by locating it at a yuga-junction: the Tretā age is ending and the Dvāpara age is beginning, with people greatly increased—an ominous backdrop suggesting near-pralaya conditions.