Shloka 5
कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
कृतं त्रेता द्वापरं च कलिश् चैव चतुर्युगम् दिव्यैर् वर्षसहस्रैस् तु तद् द्वादशभिर् उच्यते
kṛtaṃ tretā dvāparaṃ ca kaliś caiva caturyugam divyair varṣasahasrais tu tad dvādaśabhir ucyate
Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali—these four together are called a single caturyuga. Reckoned in divine years, that caturyuga is declared to measure twelve thousand years.
Sage Parāśara (speaking to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Definition and measure of a caturyuga (Kṛta/Tretā/Dvāpara/Kali) in divine years
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: precise, didactic
Creation Stage: Kalpa
Yuga: Satya
Concept: The four yugas together constitute one caturyuga, measured as twelve thousand divine years.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Reflect on the long arc of moral cycles to sustain patience and perseverance in sādhanā amid changing times.
Vishishtadvaita: Yuga-structure frames dharma’s waxing and waning within a real cosmos governed by the Lord’s ordinance (niyati under Īśvara).
FAQs
This verse defines the caturyuga as the complete fourfold cycle of time—Kṛta through Kali—establishing the basic unit used to describe larger cosmic durations.
Parāśara states that the combined four yugas are measured as twelve thousand when counted in divine years, introducing the deva-year scale used for cosmological calculations.
By grounding cosmic time in a precise, orderly cycle, the text implicitly frames the universe as governed by a higher sovereignty—Vishnu’s sustaining order—within which dharma rises and declines across the yugas.