Shloka 32
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
त्रेतायुगे विधिस्त्वेष यज्ञानां न कृते युगे । द्वापरे विप्लवं यान्ति यज्ञा: कलियुगे तथा,यह यज्ञोंका विधान त्रेतायुगमें ही था, सत्ययुगमें नहीं। द्वापरसे क्रमश: क्षीण होते हुए यज्ञ कलियुगमें लुप्त हो जाते हैं
vyāsa uvāca | tretāyuge vidhis tveṣa yajñānāṁ na kṛte yuge | dvāpare viplavaṁ yānti yajñāḥ kaliyuge tathā ||
Vyāsa said: “This formal ordinance for sacrificial rites belongs to the Tretā age, not to the Kṛta age. In the Dvāpara age the sacrifices begin to fall into disorder and decline, and in the Kali age they likewise disappear.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ritual practice is not uniform across all ages: the detailed sacrificial system is presented as characteristic of Tretā; it deteriorates in Dvāpara and becomes largely lost in Kali. The ethical implication is that dharma must be understood in relation to time (yuga-dharma), and that outer forms of religion can weaken as moral and social order declines.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Vyāsa explains how religious observances change across the four yugas. He specifically comments on the historical trajectory of yajña—its proper establishment, subsequent disruption, and eventual disappearance—framing it as part of the broader degeneration of the ages.