Matsya Purana — Measures of Time: Caturyuga Computation, Shloka 48
त्रेतादौ संहता वेदाः केवलं धर्मसेतवः संरोधादायुषश्चैव व्यस्यन्ते द्वापरे च ते ऋषयस्तपसा वेदान् अहोरात्रमधीयते //
tretādau saṃhatā vedāḥ kevalaṃ dharmasetavaḥ saṃrodhādāyuṣaścaiva vyasyante dvāpare ca te ṛṣayastapasā vedān ahorātramadhīyate //
Al comienzo de la era Tretā, los Vedas permanecen compactos e indivisos, sirviendo únicamente como puentes que sostienen el dharma. Pero, debido a la restricción y al acortamiento de la vida, en la era Dvāpara se ordenan en divisiones. Entonces los ṛṣi, mediante tapas (ascesis), estudian los Vedas día y noche.
FAQs
It does not describe cosmic pralaya directly; instead, it explains a yuga-based decline—shortened lifespan and increasing limitation—which leads to the Vedas being organized into divisions in Dvāpara for preservation and accessibility.
It frames dharma as sustained by scripture: as human capacity diminishes with time, rulers and householders must rely on organized śāstra and learned ṛṣis/teachers to maintain dharma—supporting education, recitation, and right practice rather than assuming earlier-yuga capacities.
No Vāstu or temple-rule detail is stated; the ritual takeaway is that Vedic study (svādhyāya) and disciplined practice (tapas) are presented as the means by which the Vedas—and thus ritual correctness—are maintained in later yugas.