Shloka 49
Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation
अनादिनिधना दिव्याः पूर्वं प्रोक्ताः स्वयम्भुवा स्वधर्मसंवृताः साङ्गा यथाधर्मं युगे युगे विक्रियन्ते स्वधर्मं तु वेदवादाद्यथायुगम् //
anādinidhanā divyāḥ pūrvaṃ proktāḥ svayambhuvā svadharmasaṃvṛtāḥ sāṅgā yathādharmaṃ yuge yuge vikriyante svadharmaṃ tu vedavādādyathāyugam //
These divine ordinances—without beginning or end—were formerly proclaimed by Svayambhū (Brahmā). Endowed with their own proper dharma and complete with the auxiliary disciplines (sāṅga), they undergo modification from age to age in accordance with dharma; thus one’s proper duty is to be determined from Vedic teaching, as suited to each yuga.
FAQs
It does not describe pralaya directly; it teaches that divine norms are eternal in principle yet their practical expression changes across yugas, and that Vedic authority guides what is appropriate in any age.
It frames royal and household duties as yuga-conditioned: governance, charity, penance, and social obligations should be chosen according to what the Veda authorizes for the current age, rather than applying one fixed rule-set indiscriminately.
No specific Vāstu rule is stated, but the principle applies to ritual and temple practice: procedures and ancillary disciplines (aṅgas) must align with Vedic injunctions appropriate to the yuga, shaping how rites and observances are performed.