Shloka 29

आत्मदर्शन-उपदेशः (Ātma-darśana Upadeśa) — Mind, Senses, and the All-pervading Self

Devanagari script

एतां द्वादशसाहसत्रीं युगाख्यां कवयो विदु: । सहस्रपरिवर्त तद्‌ ब्राह्मं दिवसमुच्यते

Transliteration

etāṃ dvādaśasāhastrīṃ yugākhyāṃ kavayo viduḥ | sahasraparivarta tad brāhmaṃ divasam ucyate ||

Translation

ਕਵੀਆਂ ਦੇ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ ਦੇਵਤਿਆਂ ਦੇ ਬਾਰਾਂ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਰ੍ਹਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਮਾਪ ‘ਯੁਗ’ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ; ਅਤੇ ਐਸੇ (ਚਤੁਰਯੁਗ-ਚੱਕਰ ਦੇ) ਇੱਕ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਫੇਰਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਾ ਦਾ ਇੱਕ ਦਿਨ ਆਖਿਆ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• एताम्: this (f.)
• एताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• द्वादशसाहसत्रीम्: consisting of twelve thousand (years)
• द्वादशसाहसत्रीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वादशसाहसत्री
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• युगाख्याम्: named 'yuga' / yuga-called (period)
• युगाख्याम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युगाख्या
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• कवयः: sages/poets
• कवयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विदुः: know; have known
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सहस्रपरिवर्तम्: having a thousand revolutions/turnings (i.e., repeated a thousand times)
• सहस्रपरिवर्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहस्रपरिवर्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• ब्राह्मम्: of Brahmā; Brahmā's
• ब्राह्मम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ब्राह्म
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• दिवसम्: day
• दिवसम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उच्यते: is said; is called
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada, Passive

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyasa
• Brahma
• Devas (gods)
• Yuga

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Cosmic time is measured in vast cycles: a yuga is reckoned as twelve thousand years of the gods, and a thousand such yuga-cycles make one day of Brahmā. The ethical implication is to cultivate detachment, patience, and commitment to dharma despite the immense, cyclical nature of worldly change.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa is explaining a cosmological doctrine of time-reckoning—how yugas are counted and how they aggregate into Brahmā’s day—within the Shānti Parva’s broader instruction on order, duty, and the structure of the universe.