Shloka 101
Matsya Purana — Characteristics of Dvāpara and Kali Yugas
युगेष्वेतानि हीयन्ते त्रयः पादाः क्रमेण तु इत्येष प्रतिसंधिर्वः कीर्तितस्तु मया द्विजाः //
yugeṣvetāni hīyante trayaḥ pādāḥ krameṇa tu ityeṣa pratisaṃdhirvaḥ kīrtitastu mayā dvijāḥ //
Across the successive yugas these (virtues of dharma) diminish—three ‘quarters’ step by step. Thus has this junctional rule of transition between the ages (pratisaṃdhi) been declared by me to you, O twice-born ones (dvijas).
FAQs
It does not describe pralaya directly; it explains cosmic time through the yugas, stating that dharma’s ‘quarters’ steadily decline as ages progress—an ethical-cosmic framework often used to contextualize later upheavals.
By teaching that dharma weakens with each yuga, it implies rulers and householders must practice and protect righteousness more deliberately in later ages—through truthfulness, restraint, charity, and just governance—because social virtue no longer stands naturally on all its ‘quarters.’
No specific Vastu or ritual procedure is stated here; the verse is a yuga-transition (pratisaṃdhi) teaching that can frame why later-age rites and disciplines are emphasized as compensations for declining dharma.