Shloka 65

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ युगसहस्रान्ते सम्प्राप्ते चायुष: क्षये । अनावृष्टिर्महाराज जायते बहुवार्षिकी,महाराज! इस प्रकार आयुको क्षीण करनेवाले सहस्र युगोंके अन्तिम भागकी समाप्ति होनेपर बहुत वर्षोतक वृष्टि बंद हो जाती है

Transliteration

tasmin yugasahasrānte samprāpte cāyuṣaḥ kṣaye | anāvṛṣṭir mahārāja jāyate bahuvārṣikī ||

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: «О великий царь, когда наступает конец тысячи юг и срок жизни истощается, приближаясь к пределу, возникает длительная засуха — дожди прекращаются на многие годы».

Word by Word

तस्मिन्in that (time/period)

युगage, yuga

सहस्रthousand

अन्तेat the end

सम्प्राप्तेwhen (it) has arrived/occurred

चand

आयुषःof lifespan

क्षयेat the decline/end

अनावृष्टिःdrought, absence of rain

महाराजO great king

जायतेarises/occurs

बहुवार्षिकीlasting many years

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the king being addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames drought as a sign of cyclical decline: as a great cosmic period reaches its close and vitality diminishes, nature itself becomes unstable. It underscores impermanence and the vulnerability of society—especially under kingship—to environmental collapse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes to the king that at the end of a vast epoch (a thousand yugas), when lifespan wanes, a long-lasting drought occurs, with rains stopping for many years—setting the stage for hardship such as famine and social strain.