Shloka 82
Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)
इदं कृतयुगं नाम काल: श्रेष्ठ: प्रवर्तित: । अहिंस्या यज्ञपशवो युगे5स्मिन् न तदन््यथा
idaṃ kṛtayugaṃ nāma kālaḥ śreṣṭhaḥ pravartitaḥ | ahiṃsyā yajñapaśavo yuge 'smin na tad anyathā ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Voici l’âge nommé Kṛtayuga, le temps le plus excellent, désormais mis en marche. En ce yuga, on ne fait point de mal aux animaux du sacrifice ; rien n’y advient qui soit contraire au dharma de l’ahiṃsā, la non-violence. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents Kṛtayuga as the highest moral order where ahiṃsā (non-violence) governs conduct, explicitly extending to ritual life: even sacrificial contexts do not permit harm to animals, and nothing proceeds against the principle of non-violence.
Vaiśampāyana describes the defining character of Kṛtayuga within a broader Śānti Parva discussion of dharma and yuga-conditions, emphasizing that this age is marked by the absence of violence, including the non-killing of animals in yajñas.