Shloka 29

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

अल्पावशिष्टे तु तदा चुगान्ते भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

alpāvaśiṣṭe tu tadā yugānte bharatarṣabha

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “But when only a little time remained, at the close of the age, O bull among the Bharatas,”

Word by Word

अल्पlittle, small

अवशिष्टेremaining, left over

तुbut, however

तदाthen, at that time

युगेin the age/epoch

अन्तेat the end

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bharatarṣabha (honorific addressee)

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 foregrounds the pressure of time and the sense of an approaching turning-point (“end of the age”), a common Mahābhārata motif that frames ethical action (dharma) as urgent and consequential when circumstances are nearing a decisive close.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues the narration and addresses the listener with the honorific “bharatarṣabha,” introducing an event that occurs when only a little time remains, described as happening at the ‘yuga’s end’—a transitional setup line leading into the next action or revelation.