Shloka 24
Hanūmān’s Embrace, Counsel, and Promise to Amplify Bhīma’s Battle-Roar
Gandhamādana Continuation
यह तीनों गुणोंसे रहित सत्ययुगका वर्णन हुआ। अब त्रेताका वर्णन सुनो, जिसमें यज्ञ- कर्मका आरम्भ होता है ।। पादेन हसते धर्मों रक्ततां याति चाच्युत: । सत्यप्रवृत्ताश्न नरा: क्रियाधर्मपरायणा:,उस समय धर्मके एक चरणका हास हो जाता है और भगवान् अच्युतका स्वरूप लाल वर्णका हो जाता है। लोग सत्यमें तत्पर रहते हैं। शास्त्रोक्त यज्ञक्रिया तथा धर्मके पालनमें परायण रहते हैं
etad triguṇarahitaṁ satyayugasya varṇanaṁ uktam | idānīṁ tretāyā varṇanaṁ śṛṇu yasyāṁ yajña-karmārambhaḥ | pādena hīyate dharmo rakta-tāṁ yāti cācyutaḥ | satya-pravṛttāś ca narāḥ kriyā-dharma-parāyaṇāḥ ||
“Thus has been described the Satya Yuga, free from the three guṇas. Now hear the description of the Tretā Yuga, in which the performance of sacrificial rites begins. In that age, Dharma declines by one quarter, and the form of the Imperishable Lord (Acyuta) takes on a red hue. People remain devoted to truth, and they are intent on the scriptural acts of sacrifice and on the observance of religious duty.”
भीम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that as the yugas progress, Dharma gradually diminishes (here by one quarter in Tretā), yet ethical life remains anchored in truth and in disciplined observance of scriptural duties; ritual action (yajña) becomes a defining feature of the age.
Bhīma continues a didactic account of the yugas: after summarizing Satya Yuga as guṇa-free, he introduces Tretā Yuga, noting the first measurable decline of Dharma, a symbolic change in the Lord’s manifestation (red hue), and the rise of Vedic sacrificial practice alongside continued commitment to truth.