Shloka 39
Description of the Worship of the Planets
द्वापरे यज्ञमित्याहुर्दानमेकं कलौ युगे । सर्वेषामेव दानानामिदमेवैकमुत्तमम्
dvāpare yajñamityāhurdānamekaṃ kalau yuge | sarveṣāmeva dānānāmidamevaikamuttamam
دوَاپر یُگ میں (بڑا) دھارمک کرم یَجْیَہ کہا گیا ہے؛ مگر کَلی یُگ میں ایک ہی اعلیٰ فریضہ—دان (خیرات) ہے۔ تمام عطیوں میں یہی سب سے برتر ہے۔
Unspecified (narratorial/teaching voice within Sṛṣṭikhaṇḍa context)
Concept: Yuga-dharma shifts: yajña is central in Dvāpara, but in Kali the foremost duty is dāna; among gifts, a particular form is singled out as supreme (contextually completed by the next verse as ‘abhaya-dāna’).
Application: Prioritize generosity and social responsibility: support food, medicine, education, and protection for the vulnerable; make giving regular (monthly/weekly) and intentional rather than occasional.
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A fourfold wheel of time turns in the sky, each quadrant showing a signature act: Kṛta—ascetics with matted hair; Tretā—scholars with manuscripts; Dvāpara—fire altar with priests; Kali—ordinary householders offering alms and protection to the needy. The Kali quadrant glows warmly, emphasizing accessibility and compassion.","primary_figures":["Householder donors","Recipients (poor, travelers, animals)","Vedic priests at yajña (symbolic)","Sages and scholars (symbolic)"],"setting":"Mandala-like cosmic wheel with four vignettes; Kali scene set in a village street near a small shrine","lighting_mood":"golden dawn","color_palette":["warm ochre","vermillion","indigo","smoke gray","leaf green"],"tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting style: a circular yuga-chakra with four compartments; Dvāpara compartment shows a blazing yajña-kuṇḍa with priests in silk, Kali compartment shows a richly dressed yet humble donor offering coins, grain, and cloth to supplicants; heavy gold leaf on borders, jewel-like highlights, ornate lotus frame.","pahari_prompt":"Pahari miniature style: elegant yuga-wheel composition with delicate lines; the Kali vignette features a quiet village lane, a small tulasī platform in the background, and a donor placing alms into a recipient’s hands; cool shadows, refined faces, subtle textile patterns.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style: bold outlines and flat natural pigments; the yajña fire rendered as stylized flame motifs, and Kali dāna scene with expressive eyes and rhythmic gestures; temple-wall symmetry, red-yellow-green dominance.","pichwai_prompt":"Pichwai cloth painting style: a devotional mandala with four yuga petals; the Kali petal filled with lotus motifs and rows of devotees giving food and cloth, peacocks at the border, deep blue ground with gold detailing, intricate floral margins."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"narrative","suggested_raga":"Desh","pace":"moderate-narrative","voice_tone":"authoritative","sound_elements":["soft hand cymbals","low mridangam pulse","marketplace ambience fading into silence","conch shell (very distant)"]}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: यज्ञम् + इति → यज्ञमिति; इति + आहुः → इत्याहुः; दानम् + एकम् → दानमेकम्; दानानाम् + इदम् → दानानामिदम्; एव + एकम् → एवैकम्.
FAQs
It presents a hierarchy of predominant spiritual practices by age: yajña (sacrifice) is highlighted for Dvāpara, while dāna (charity) is emphasized as the principal discipline in Kali.
The verse frames charity as the single most accessible and effective ethical-spiritual act for Kali, implying that complex sacrificial disciplines are less central than compassionate giving.
It prioritizes generosity and social responsibility, teaching that giving—done as a sacred duty—can be the highest form of righteousness in an age of moral decline.