Shloka 17
आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self
दैवे रात्यहनी वर्ष प्रविभागस्तयो: पुनः । अहस्तत्रोदगयन रात्रि: स्याद् दक्षिणायनम्,मनुष्योंका एक वर्ष देवताओंके एक दिन-रातके बराबर है, उनके दिन-रातका विभाग इस प्रकार है। उत्तरायण उनका दिन है और दक्षिणायन उनकी रात्रि
daive rātryahanī varṣa-pravibhāgas tayoḥ punaḥ | ahas tatrodagayanaṃ rātriḥ syād dakṣiṇāyanam ||
Vyāsa berkata: Bagi para dewa, setahun bagi manusia menyamai satu siang dan satu malam. Pembahagian siang dan malam mereka adalah demikian: perjalanan matahari ke arah utara (uttarāyaṇa) ialah siang mereka, dan perjalanan ke arah selatan (dakṣiṇāyaṇa) ialah malam mereka.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmological perspective on time: human measures are not absolute. A full human year corresponds to a single day-night cycle for the gods, with uttarāyaṇa as their day and dakṣiṇāyaṇa as their night—inviting reflection on the relativity of time and the larger moral-spiritual order (dharma) governing the universe.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Vyāsa explains the structure of cosmic time. He defines how the gods experience day and night, mapping it onto the sun’s northward and southward movements, as part of a broader teaching on time, duty, and the order of the world.