कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
चतुर्युगाण्य् अशेषाणि सदृशानि स्वरूपतः आद्यं कृतयुगं मुक्त्वा मैत्रेयान्त्यं तथा कलिम्
caturyugāṇy aśeṣāṇi sadṛśāni svarūpataḥ ādyaṃ kṛtayugaṃ muktvā maitreyāntyaṃ tathā kalim
Alle Zyklen der vier Yugas sind ihrem Wesen nach gleichartig. Doch, o Maitreya, wenn man das erste, das Kṛta-Yuga, und das letzte, das Kali-Yuga, ausnimmt, (sind die beiden übrigen als mittlere zu verstehen).
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
This verse frames the four-yuga cycle as repeating with an essentially consistent structure, establishing a cosmic law of time that governs dharma’s rise and decline.
Parāśara signals that while all four-yuga cycles are fundamentally similar, special attention is given to the extremes—Kṛta as the first and Kali as the last—while the middle yugas are treated as intermediate states.
Even when not named in the verse, the yuga-order is understood in the Purana as upheld by Vishnu’s sovereignty over time and cosmic law, within which dharma is regulated across ages.