Shloka 25
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
सहस्रमेकं वर्षाणां तत: कलियुगं स्मृतम्
sahasram ekaṁ varṣāṇāṁ tataḥ kaliyugaṁ smṛtam | tad-anu sandhyā-śataṁ proktaṁ sandhyāṁśa-śatam eva ca | evaṁ kaliyugaṁ dvādaśa-śataṁ divya-varṣāṇām | sandhyā-sandhyāṁśayoḥ pramāṇaṁ samam eva viduḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : « Après cela, on se souvient que le Kali Yuga dure mille années (divines). Ensuite, cent années sont déclarées comme son crépuscule (sandhyā) et cent autres comme son après-crépuscule (sandhyāṁśa). Ainsi, le Kali Yuga totalise mille deux cents années divines ; comprends que la mesure du crépuscule et de l’après-crépuscule est égale. »
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the yugas have fixed, knowable durations, including equal transitional phases (sandhyā and sandhyāṁśa). This presents moral decline and restoration as structured processes within cosmic order, not random events.
Vaiśampāyana is explaining the traditional measure of the Kali Yuga: 1000 divine years for the main period, plus 100 divine years of sandhyā and 100 divine years of sandhyāṁśa, totaling 1200 divine years.