Shloka 38

Devanagari script

एतत्‌ कलियुगं नाम अचिराद्‌ यत्‌ प्रवर्तते । युगानुवर्तनं त्वेतत्‌ कुर्वन्ति चिरजीविन:,यह कलियुगका वर्णन किया गया, जो शीघ्र ही आनेवाला है। चिरजीवीलोग भी इस प्रकार युगका अनुसरण करते हैं

Transliteration

etat kaliyugaṃ nāma acirād yat pravartate | yugānuvartanaṃ tv etat kurvanti cirajīvinaḥ ||

Translation

Bhīma said: “This is what is called the Kali age, which will soon come into force. Even the long-lived beings, too, follow the succession of ages in this very manner.”

Word by Word

एतत्this

कलियुगम्the Kali age

नामby name / indeed (as called)

अचिरात्soon, before long

यत्which

प्रवर्ततेcomes into operation / begins

युगानुवर्तनम्following (succession) of the yugas

तुbut / indeed

एतत्this

कुर्वन्तिdo / perform

चिरजीविनःlong-lived ones

Speaker

भीम उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīma

Kali Yuga

Yuga-cycle (yugānuvartana)

cirajīvinaḥ (long-lived beings)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames moral and social decline as part of a larger cosmic rhythm: ages (yugas) arise and pass in sequence, and even those who live very long must witness and conform to this inevitable progression. It encourages a sober awareness of time’s cycles rather than surprise at degeneration.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma comments on the imminent onset of Kali Yuga, identifying the signs of the age and emphasizing that the transition of yugas is a recurring, orderly process that even long-lived beings experience.