Shloka 33
मोक्षोपाय-निर्णयः
Determination of the Means to Liberation
पादोनेनापि धर्मेण गच्छेत् त्रेतायुगे तथा । द्वापरे तु द्विपादेन पादेन त्वधरे युगे
pādonenāpi dharmeṇa gacchet tretāyuge tathā | dvāpare tu dvipādena pādena tvadhare yuge ||
Dijo Humatsena: «Aun con el dharma menguado en una cuarta parte, puede avanzarse en la era Tretā. En la era Dvāpara, el dharma se sostiene en dos cuartas partes; pero en la era posterior (Kali) se sostiene sólo en una. La enseñanza es que la capacidad moral del mundo declina a través de los yugas; por ello, el esfuerzo ético debe comprenderse a la luz de la menor firmeza de la rectitud en cada época.»
हुमत्सेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is portrayed as progressively diminishing across the yugas: in Tretā it is reduced by one quarter, in Dvāpara it stands on two quarters, and in the later age (Kali) it remains on only one quarter. The verse frames ethical life as harder and less stable as time declines.
Humatsena is explaining a doctrinal point about the yugas within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on dharma: the world’s moral foundation weakens over cosmic time, affecting how righteousness can be maintained in different ages.