Shloka 29

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

अल्पावशिष्टे तु तदा चुगान्ते भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

alpāvaśiṣṭe tu tadā yugānte bharatarṣabha

Translation

ஆனால், பாரதர்களில் சிறந்தவனே! யுகத்தின் முடிவில் சிறிதளவே காலம் மீதமிருந்தபோது,

Word by Word

अल्पlittle, small

अवशिष्टेremaining, left over

तुbut, however

तदाthen, at that time

युगेin the age/epoch

अन्तेat the end

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bharatarṣabha (honorific addressee)

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 foregrounds the pressure of time and the sense of an approaching turning-point (“end of the age”), a common Mahābhārata motif that frames ethical action (dharma) as urgent and consequential when circumstances are nearing a decisive close.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana continues the narration and addresses the listener with the honorific “bharatarṣabha,” introducing an event that occurs when only a little time remains, described as happening at the ‘yuga’s end’—a transitional setup line leading into the next action or revelation.