Shloka 32

अध्याय १९० — वामदेव-वाम्य-वृत्तान्तः

The Vāmadeva Horses Episode and the Ethics of Promise

Devanagari script

श्वेत: कृतयुगे वर्ण: पीतस्त्रेतायुगे मम । रक्तो द्वापरमासाद्य कृष्ण: कलियुगे तथा,सत्ययुगमें मेरे शरीरका रंग श्वेत, त्रेतामें पीला, द्वापरमें लाल और कलियुगमें काला होता है

Transliteration

śvetaḥ kṛtayuge varṇaḥ pītastrētāyuge mama | rakto dvāparam āsādya kṛṣṇaḥ kaliyuge tathā ||

Translation

Im Kṛta- (Satya-)Yuga ist meine Farbe weiß; im Tretā-Yuga gelb; im Dvāpara-Yuga rot; und im Kali-Yuga schwarz.

Word by Word

श्वेतःwhite

कृतयुगेin the Kṛta-yuga

वर्णःcolor

पीतःyellow

त्रेतायुगेin the Tretā-yuga

ममof me / my

रक्तःred

द्वापरम्the Dvāpara(-yuga)

आसाद्यhaving reached / attaining

कृष्णःblack

कलियुगेin the Kali-yuga

तथाthus / likewise

Speaker

देव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Deva (the speaking deity)

Kṛta/Satya Yuga

Tretā Yuga

Dvāpara Yuga

Kali Yuga

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 teaches that the Divine adapts His manifested form to the conditions of each yuga, indicating a continuous, responsive guardianship of dharma across cosmic time rather than a one-time intervention.

What is happening in the narrative?

A deity is speaking and explains a doctrinal point about the four yugas, describing how His visible complexion is said to differ in each age—white in Kṛta, yellow in Tretā, red in Dvāpara, and black in Kali.