Shloka 23

युगधर्मवर्णनम् — चतुर्युग, गुण, धर्मपाद, तथा वार्तोत्पत्ति

Devanagari script

वर्तयन्ति स्म तेभ्यस्तास् त्रेतायुगमुखे प्रजाः ततः कालेन महता तासामेव विपर्ययात्

Transliteration

vartayanti sma tebhyastās tretāyugamukhe prajāḥ tataḥ kālena mahatā tāsāmeva viparyayāt

Translation

At the dawn of the Tretā-yuga, those progenitor beings set the generations in motion from them; but in the course of great time, through the very reversal of their own condition, that order declined.

Word by Word

• वर्तयन्ति स्म: they caused to proceed/they set in motion

• तेभ्यः: from them

• ताः: those (generations/lines)

• त्रेतायुगमुखे: at the beginning of the Tretā-yuga

• प्रजाः: creatures/subjects/people

• ततः: thereafter

• कालेन महता: by great time/over a long period

• तासाम् एव: of those very (people/lines)

• विपर्ययात्: due to reversal/decline/perversion (of the prior order)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames history as cyclical—when dharma reverses over time, refuge in Pati (Shiva) through Linga-upāsanā becomes the stabilizing means to realign prajā with sacred order.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By implying that worldly order rises and falls through time, it points to Shiva-tattva as the unchanging Pati beyond kāla, the ground by which the pashu can transcend viparyaya (reversal) and pasha (bondage).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No single rite is named, but the takeaway aligns with Pāśupata discipline: when decline sets in, one should return to Shiva-centered sādhanā—Linga-pūjā, japa, and inner steadiness to counter viparyaya.