Shloka 34

Yoga-Sleep, Cosmic Dissolution, and the Lotus of Creation

with Mārkaṇḍeya’s Vision

Devanagari script

द्वापरं द्विसहस्रं तु वर्षाणां कुरुनन्दन । तस्य तावच्छती सन्ध्या द्विगुणं युगमुच्यते

Transliteration

dvāparaṃ dvisahasraṃ tu varṣāṇāṃ kurunandana | tasya tāvacchatī sandhyā dviguṇaṃ yugamucyate

Translation

Ô joie des Kuru, le Dvāpara Yuga dure deux mille ans; sa sandhyā est de même mesure en centaines (deux cents ans). Ainsi dit-on que le yuga est de mesure double lorsque ces périodes de jonction sont incluses.

Word by Word

• द्वापरम्: Dvāpara (age)
• द्वापरम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्वापर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; yuga-name; here as object/topic

• द्वि-सहस्रम्: two thousand
• द्वि-सहस्रम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; द्विगुसमासः (numeral compound) qualifying duration/number

• तु: indeed/but
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), adversative/emphatic

• वर्षाणाम्: of years
• वर्षाणाम्: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6), बहुवचन; genitive of measure

• कुरुनन्दन: O delight of the Kurus
• कुरुनन्दन: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु-नन्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन (8), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (कुरूणां नन्दनः)

• तस्य: of that (Dvāpara)
• तस्य: Shashthi-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसक, षष्ठी (6), एकवचन; pronominal genitive

• तावत्-शती: of that many hundreds (i.e., 200)
• तावत्-शती: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावत् + शती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (तावत्-प्रमाणं शतम्) qualifying sandhyā

• सन्ध्या: the sandhyā (twilight period)
• सन्ध्या: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सन्ध्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1), एकवचन; yuga-twilight (junction period)

• द्वि-गुणम्: double
• द्वि-गुणम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + गुण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; तत्पुरुषः (द्वौ गुणौ यस्य/द्विगुणम्) used predicatively

• युगम्: the yuga (age)
• युगम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1/2), एकवचन; subject complement with passive verb

• उच्यते: is said/called
• उच्यते: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच् (धातु)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; कर्मणि प्रयोग (passive)

Speaker

Pulastya (in dialogue addressing Bhīṣma as ‘Kurunandana’)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: celestial_realm

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तावच्छती = तावत् + शती; युगमुच्यते = युगम् + उच्यते (अ + उ → उ).

Characters & Entities

• Kuru (lineage epithet: Kurunandana)

FAQs

What duration for Dvāpara-yuga is stated in this verse?

It states Dvāpara-yuga as 2,000 years, with an additional junction/twilight period (sandhyā) counted in hundreds (understood here as 200 years).

What does ‘sandhyā’ mean in yuga calculations?

Sandhyā is the transitional ‘twilight’ period at the junction of ages; Purāṇic timekeeping often includes such junction portions when giving the full yuga measure.

Why does the verse say the yuga is ‘twofold’ (dviguṇa)?

It indicates that the stated core duration is expanded by including the junction portions (sandhyā and related transitional measure), yielding a larger computed total than the base figure alone.