कृते युगे धर्म आसीत् समग्र- स्त्रेताकाले ज्ञानमनुप्रपन्न: । बल॑ त्वासीद् द्वापरे पार्थ कृष्ण: कलौ त्वधर्म: क्षितिमिवाजगाम
kṛte yuge dharma āsīt samagraḥ | tretākāle jñānam anuprapannaḥ | balaṃ tv āsīd dvāpare pārtha kṛṣṇaḥ | kalau tv adharmaḥ kṣitim ivājagāma, pārtha ||
Bhishma berkata: Pada zaman Kṛta, Dharma berdiri utuh dan sempurna. Pada zaman Tretā, Kṛṣṇa teguh sebagai pengetahuan dan kebijaksanaan yang penuh. Pada zaman Dvāpara, wahai Pārtha, Dia hadir sebagai kekuatan. Namun pada zaman Kali, adharma akan turun menguasai bumi seolah-olah telah merampasnya—hingga kezaliman menjadi kuasa yang dominan.
भीष्म उवाच
The verse teaches a yuga-based moral cosmology: as time moves from Kṛta to Kali, the dominant principle shifts from complete dharma to the ascendancy of adharma. It frames ethical life as increasingly challenging in later ages, where unrighteousness tends to prevail socially and politically.
Bhīṣma, instructing Arjuna, summarizes the changing character of the four yugas. He describes how dharma, wisdom, and strength are successively prominent, and warns that in Kali Yuga adharma will seem to descend upon and overtake the earth.