Shloka 21
आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self
संध्या और संध्यांशोंसहित अन्य तीन युगोंमें यह (चार हजार आठ सौ वर्षोकी) संख्या क्रमश: एक-एक चौथाई घटती जाती है-
sandhyā ca sandhyāṁśaiḥ sahitā anyeṣu triṣu yugeṣu idaṁ (catuḥsahasra-aṣṭaśata-varṣāṇāṁ) saṅkhyā kramaśaḥ eka-eka-caturthāṁśena hīyate
ヴィヤーサは言った。「サンディヤー（交界の黄昏）とサンディヤーンシャ（黄昏の分）を含めると、残る三つのユガでは、この総数—ここでは四八〇〇年と数えられる—が、順にそのたび四分の一ずつ減少してゆく。この教えは、時そのものが道徳の律動に支配されることを示す。ユガが進むにつれ、ダルマの分量も、吉祥なる秩序の存続も、絶えず衰えてゆくのである。」
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the durations of the yugas (including their transitional dawn/dusk periods) follow an ordered pattern of decline: starting from a stated total (here 4,800 years), each subsequent yuga is reduced by one quarter. This numerical scheme expresses an ethical idea—dharma and stability diminish as time moves through the ages.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Vyāsa is explaining the structure of cosmic time. He specifies how the measure assigned to one yuga, together with its sandhyā and sandhyāṁśa, becomes progressively smaller in the remaining three yugas by a fixed fractional reduction.