Shloka 88
Daṇḍanīti and the King as the Cause of Yuga-Order (दण्डनीतिः राजधर्मश्च युगकारणत्वम्)
अशुभस्य चतुर्थाशस्त्रीनंशाननुवर्तते | कृष्टपच्यैव पृथिवी भवन्त्योषधयस्तथा
aśubhasya caturthāṃśas trīn aṃśān anuvartate | kṛṣṭapacyāiva pṛthivī bhavanty oṣadhayas tathā ||
Bhishma said: When the fourth portion of inauspiciousness follows behind the three portions (of merit), the world enters a condition like the beginning of the Tretā age. In that state, the earth yields grain only when it is ploughed and sown, and medicinal plants likewise arise through such cultivation—signaling a decline from effortless abundance and a greater dependence on disciplined human effort under righteous governance.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Moral and social conditions are linked to righteous governance and the balance of merit and demerit: as inauspiciousness increases (even as a subordinate ‘fourth part’), nature’s spontaneous abundance diminishes and human society must rely more on disciplined effort (cultivation), reflecting a step down from a higher yuga.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and royal policy (daṇḍanīti), he describes a yuga-transition scenario: when the world’s moral balance shifts so that a portion of ‘aśubha’ trails the dominant ‘good,’ the age resembles the onset of Tretā, marked by the earth producing crops and herbs only through ploughing and sowing.