Shloka 28

Adhyaya 46 — Cosmic Dissolution, the Emergence of Brahma, and the Measures of Time (Yugas, Manvantaras, and Brahma’s Day)

Sanskrit

त्रेता त्रीणि सहस्राणि दिव्याब्दानां शतत्रयम् ।

तत्सन्ध्या तत्समा चैव सन्ध्यांशश्च तथाविधः ॥

Transliteration

tretā trīṇi sahasrāṇi divyābdānāṃ śatatrayam | tat-sandhyā tat-samā caiva sandhyāṃśaś ca tathāvidhaḥ ||

Translation

Tretā dài ba nghìn năm thiên giới, với ba trăm năm làm đoạn nối (junction). Sandhyā của nó bằng đúng như vậy, và sandhyāṃśa cũng cùng một lượng.

Word by Word

• tretā: Tretā (age)
• tretā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tretā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; युगनाम

• trīṇi: three
• trīṇi: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: trīṇi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

• sahasrāṇi: thousands
• sahasrāṇi: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), बहुवचन

• divya-abdānām: of divine years
• divya-abdānām: Ṣaṣṭhī-sambandha (षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: divya-abda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), बहुवचन; कर्मधारय (divyāḥ abdāḥ = divine years)

• śata-trayam: three hundred
• śata-trayam: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śata-traya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (1st/2nd), एकवचन; द्विगु-समास (three hundreds)

• tat-sandhyā: its sandhyā (junction)
• tat-sandhyā: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tat-sandhyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tasya sandhyā = its twilight)

• tat-samā: equal to that (same measure)
• tat-samā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tat-samā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (tasya samā = equal to that/its equal)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• eva: indeed / just
• eva: Avadhāraṇa (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• sandhyāṃśaḥ: the sandhyā-portion
• sandhyāṃśaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sandhyā-aṃśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (sandhyāyāḥ aṃśaḥ)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• tathāvidhaḥ: likewise / of the same kind
• tathāvidhaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: tathā-vidha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; कर्मधारय

Speakers

• Didactic narrator detailing yuga durations.

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Cosmology
• Yuga durations
• Sandhyā periods

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

As dharma gradually diminishes from age to age, the text encourages intentional cultivation of virtue rather than reliance on the ‘natural’ goodness of an era.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Time-scheme essential to manvantara computation and to locating epic/purāṇic events within yuga frameworks.

What is the esoteric significance?

The proportional decline (4-3-2-1) is a symbolic arithmetic of entropy: order requires increasing conscious effort as time cycles progress.