Shloka 40
Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)
द्वापरे मैथुनो धर्म: प्रजानामभवन्नूप । तथा कलियुगे राजन द्वन्ड्यमापेदिरे जना:,नरेश्वर! द्वापरयुगमें प्रजाके मनमें मैथुनधर्मका सूत्रपात हुआ। राजन! उसी तरह कलियुगमें भी लोग मैथुनधर्मको प्राप्त होने लगे
dvāpare maithuno dharmaḥ prajānām abhavan nṛpa | tathā kaliyuge rājan dvandyam āpedire janāḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O king, in the Dvāpara age the impulse toward sexual union (maithuna) arose as a governing tendency among people. In the same way, O Rājan, in the Kali age people came to be seized by dualities—pulled and pushed by opposing pairs—so that their conduct became increasingly driven by conflict, attraction and aversion.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma outlines a yuga-based ethical psychology: in Dvāpara, society becomes increasingly oriented toward maithuna (sexual union as a dominant impulse), while in Kali people are overtaken by dvandva—inner and outer conflicts born of opposites—leading to instability in conduct and judgment.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs the king on dharma and the changing character of ages (yugas). Here he contrasts Dvāpara and Kali, describing how prevailing human tendencies shift and how these shifts affect social and moral life.