Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 22
The Lord’s Apology to the Kumāras and the Fall of Jaya and Vijaya
धर्मस्य ते भगवतस्त्रियुग त्रिभि: स्वै: पद्भिश्चराचरमिदं द्विजदेवतार्थम् । नूनं भृतं तदभिघाति रजस्तमश्च सत्त्वेन नो वरदया तनुवा निरस्य ॥ २२ ॥
dharmasya te bhagavatas tri-yuga tribhiḥ svaiḥ padbhiś carācaram idaṁ dvija-devatārtham nūnaṁ bhṛtaṁ tad-abhighāti rajas tamaś ca sattvena no varadayā tanuvā nirasya
噢，薄伽梵！你是达摩之化身。于三劫中，你以三步示现，护持此有情与无情之宇宙，为诸天与二次生者之利益。愿你以纯净萨埵、赐福之恩，驱除罗阇与昏暗。
The Lord is addressed in this verse as tri-yuga, or one who appears in three millenniums, namely the Satya, Dvāpara and Tretā yugas. He is not mentioned as appearing in the fourth millennium, or Kali-yuga. It is described in Vedic literature that in Kali-yuga He comes as channa-avatāra, or an incarnation, but He does not appear as a manifest incarnation. In the other yugas, however, the Lord is a manifest incarnation, and therefore he is addressed as tri-yuga, or the Lord who appears in three yugas.
FAQs
In this verse the sages address the Lord as Triyuga—He who is prominently manifest in three yugas—while in Kali-yuga He is not openly revealed in the same way, yet still protects dharma through His arrangements and incarnations.
Because passion and ignorance disturb the dharmic order meant to support brāhmaṇas and devas; the Kumāras therefore appeal to the Lord’s boon-giving presence to restore sattva and harmony.
Seek sattva by cultivating devotion, purity, truthfulness, and regulated habits, and by remembering the Lord as the ultimate protector of dharma when confusion, anger, or lethargy (rajas/tamas) rise.