Shloka 31

Devanagari script

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद्ब्रह्म॒णो विदु: । रात्रि युगसहस्रान्तां तेडहोरात्रविदो जना:

Transliteration

sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ | rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te 'ho-rātra-vido janāḥ ||

Translation

Vyāsa said: Those who truly understand the measure of day and night know that Brahmā’s “day” extends to the end of a thousand yugas, and that his “night” likewise ends after a thousand yugas. Thus, the wise discern time on a cosmic scale, beyond ordinary human reckoning.

Word by Word

सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तम्up to (the span of) a thousand yugas

अहःday

यत्which

ब्रह्मणःof Brahmā / of Brahman (here: Brahmā)

विदुःknow

रात्रिम्night

युगसहस्रान्ताम्ending with a thousand yugas (i.e., lasting a thousand yugas)

तेthey

अहोरात्रविदःknowers of day and night

जनाःpeople

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

Brahmā

yuga

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that true wisdom includes understanding time from a cosmic perspective: Brahmā’s day and night each span a thousand yugas. This relativizes human concerns and encourages detachment, patience, and dharmic steadiness in the face of change.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is explaining a doctrinal point about cosmic cycles—how the universe is governed by vast measures of time (Brahmā’s day and night). The statement frames ethical and spiritual instruction within a larger cosmological order.