Shloka 2

Adhyaya 59 — Cosmic Geography and Yuga-Order: Bhadrashva, Ketumala, and the Northern Kuru Region

Sanskrit

अत्रैवैतद्युगानान्तु चातुर्वर्ण्योऽत्र वै द्विज ।

चत्वारि त्रीणि द्वे चैव तथैकञ्च शरच्छतम् ॥

Transliteration

atraivaitad yugānāṃ tu cāturvarṇyo ’tra vai dvija / catvāri trīṇi dve caiva tathaikañ ca śaracchatam

Translation

この地においては、ああ二度生まれし者（ドヴィジャ）よ、まことに四種の社会秩序（四ヴァルナ）が存する。ここでの寿命はユガの次第に従い、それぞれ四百年、三百年、二百年、百年である。

Speakers

• Narrator (traditional Purāṇic speaker) addressing a dvija interlocutor (likely Mārkaṇḍeya to a questioner in the frame)

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Sacred geography
• Yuga doctrine
• Social order (varṇa)