Shloka 38
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
सधर्मव्रतसंयोगं यथाधर्म युगे युगे । विक्रियन्ते स्वधर्मस्था वेदवादा यथागमम्
sadharmavratasaṃyogaṃ yathā dharma yuge yuge | vikriyante svadharmasthā vedavādā yathāgamam ||
Vyāsa berkata: “Pada setiap zaman (yuga), pertemuan antara perilaku yang benar menurut dharma dan amalan nazar/ikrar (vrata) terbentuk sesuai dharma zaman itu. Namun apabila dharma merosot dari satu yuga ke yuga yang lain, bahkan mereka yang teguh pada swadharma mereka dan bertutur selaras dengan Veda turut mengalami perubahan—menurut apa yang ditetapkan oleh śāstra bagi waktu yang sedang berubah itu.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not presented as a single unchanging social expression across all ages; rather, practices like vows and ritual life align with the dharma appropriate to each yuga. As the yugas progress and dharma diminishes, even sincere, Veda-aligned people are affected by that shift and must follow what scripture prescribes for the altered conditions.
Vyāsa is explaining a yuga-based framework of ethical and religious life: how righteous practice appears in each age and how the decline of dharma across yugas leads to changes in conduct, even among those devoted to svadharma and Vedic authority.