Shloka 18

Yuga-Dharma: The Four Ages, Decline of Dharma, and the Rise of Social Order

Devanagari script

ब्रह्मा कृतयुगे देवस्त्रेतायां भगवान् रविः / द्वापरे दैवतं विष्णुः कलौ रुद्रो महेश्वरः

Transliteration

brahmā kṛtayuge devastretāyāṃ bhagavān raviḥ / dvāpare daivataṃ viṣṇuḥ kalau rudro maheśvaraḥ

Translation

കൃതയുഗത്തിൽ ബ്രഹ്മാ അധിഷ്ഠാതാ ദേവൻ; ത്രേതായുഗത്തിൽ ഭഗവാൻ രവി (സൂര്യൻ) പ്രഭു. ദ്വാപരത്തിൽ വിഷ്ണു ആരാധ്യ ദൈവം; കലിയുഗത്തിൽ രുദ്രൻ—മഹേശ്വരൻ—അധിഷ്ഠാതാ പ്രഭു.

Word by Word

• brahmā: Brahmā
• brahmā: Karta (कर्ता) (nominal predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kṛta-yuge: in the Kṛta-yuga
• kṛta-yuge: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (प्रातिपदिक) + yuga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Saptamī, Ekavacana; locative of time

• devaḥ: (is) the deity
• devaḥ: Prātipadika-samānādhikaraṇa (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण) with brahmā

• tretāyām: in the Tretā(-yuga)
• tretāyām: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; (yuge understood)

• bhagavān: the Blessed/Lordly
• bhagavān: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण) of raviḥ
• Type: Adjective
• Root: bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; honorific adjective used substantively

• raviḥ: Sun
• raviḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (nominal predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ravi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• dvāpare: in the Dvāpara(-yuga)
• dvāpare: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvāpara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Saptamī, Ekavacana; (yuge understood)

• daivatam: the deity (object of worship)
• daivatam: Prātipadika-samānādhikaraṇa (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: daivata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsaka, Prathamā, Ekavacana; predicate nominative (समानााधिकरण)

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (nominal predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• kalau: in Kali(-yuga)
• kalau: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Saptamī, Ekavacana; locative of time

• rudraḥ: Rudra
• rudraḥ: Karta (कर्ता) (nominal predicate/topic)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rudra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• maheśvaraḥ: Mahēśvara (Great Lord)
• maheśvaraḥ: Samānādhikaraṇa (समानााधिकरण) with rudraḥ
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahā (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; karmadhāraya ‘mahān īśvaraḥ’

Speaker

Sūta (narrator) to the sages at Naimiṣāraṇya (contextual narrator voice in Purāṇic transmission)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: adbhuta

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Brahmā
• Ravi (Sūrya)
• Viṣṇu
• Rudra
• Maheśvara

More Details (4 sections)

FAQs

How does this verse explain the nature of the Supreme Self (Atman)?

It implies one supreme sacred order manifesting through different presiding forms across the yugas; the focus shifts in worshipful emphasis, while divinity remains the ultimate ground behind these forms.

What Yoga or Meditative practices are highlighted here?

The verse itself is primarily theological (devatā-krama), but it supports a yuga-appropriate sādhana principle: align devotion, discipline, and worship with the dominant spiritual conditions of the age—an idea later systematized in the Kurma Purana’s Shaiva-leaning yogic and dharmic instructions.

How does this verse depict the relationship between Shiva and Vishnu?

By placing Viṣṇu as central in Dvāpara and Rudra-Maheśvara as central in Kali, it frames devotion as complementary rather than sectarian, consistent with the Kurma Purana’s tendency toward Shaiva-Vaishnava synthesis.