Shloka 69

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

तत: संवर्तको वह्निवायुना सह भारत | लोकमाविशते पूर्वमादित्यैरुपशोषितम्‌,भारत! इसके बाद '“संवर्तक” नामकी प्रलयकालीन अग्नि वायुके साथ उन सम्पूर्ण लोकोंमें फैल जाती है, जहाँका जल पहले सात सूर्योंद्वारा सोख लिया गया है

Transliteration

tataḥ saṁvartako vahnivāyunā saha bhārata | lokam āviśate pūrvam ādityair upaśoṣitam |

Translation

Kemudian, wahai Bhārata, api Saṁvartaka pada masa pralaya—bersama angin—merasuk dan menyebar ke seluruh dunia, setelah airnya lebih dahulu dikeringkan oleh matahari-matahari itu.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

संवर्तकःSaṃvartaka (the pralaya-fire)

वह्नि-वायुनाby/with fire-and-wind

सहtogether with

भारतO Bhārata

लोकम्the world(s)/realm(s)

आविशतेenters, pervades

पूर्वम्previously, beforehand

आदित्यैःby the suns (Ādityas)

उपशोषितम्dried up, desiccated

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhārata (Janamejaya as addressee)

Saṁvartaka (pralaya-fire)

Vāyu (wind)

Ādityas / suns

Loka(s) (worlds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the inevitability of dissolution and the fragility of worldly supports: when time and cosmic order turn toward reabsorption, even life-sustaining elements (water, wind, fire) become instruments of pralaya. Ethically, it urges detachment, humility, and alignment with dharma rather than reliance on transient power or possessions.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a sequence of cosmic destruction: first the waters of the worlds are dried up by the suns (Ādityas), and then the Saṁvartaka conflagration, driven along with the wind, enters and pervades the worlds, consuming what remains.