Shloka 93

Adhyaya 40: Kali-yuga Lakshana, Yuga-sandhyamsha, and the Re-emergence of Dharma

Devanagari script

यथा युगानां परिवर्तनानि चिरप्रवृत्तानि युगस्वभावात् तथा तु संतिष्ठति जीवलोकः क्षयोदयाभ्यां परिवर्तमानः

Transliteration

yathā yugānāṃ parivartanāni cirapravṛttāni yugasvabhāvāt tathā tu saṃtiṣṭhati jīvalokaḥ kṣayodayābhyāṃ parivartamānaḥ

Translation

正如诸时代（yuga）的更替自久远以来依其本性而行，如是，众生世间亦得以存续，常在衰与盛之间轮转。于是，pashu（个体灵魂）在时间之轮下于轮回（saṃsāra）中迁流，直至归依于Pati——湿婆（Śiva）——唯有祂超越增与减、兴与坏。

Word by Word

• yathā: just as

• yugānām: of the yugas (world-ages)

• parivartanāni: changes, transitions

• cira-pravṛttāni: long-established, long in operation

• yuga-svabhāvāt: from the inherent nature of the yuga

• tathā: so, likewise

• tu: indeed

• saṃtiṣṭhati: stands, continues, endures

• jīva-lokaḥ: the world of living beings / embodied souls

• kṣaya-udayābhyām: by decline and rise (destruction and emergence)

• parivartamānaḥ: revolving, undergoing change

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames the cosmos as cyclically changing by time (kāla), implying that stability is not found in worldly rise and decline but in devotion to Pati—Śiva—whose Linga signifies the timeless, unchanging reality beyond yuga-rotation.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By contrast: the jīvaloka revolves through kṣaya and udaya, while Shiva-tattva is understood as that which is not subject to such modifications—Pati, the transcendent ground in which cycles appear and dissolve.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse points more to viveka (discrimination) than a specific rite: recognizing cyclical impermanence supports Pāśupata-oriented sādhanā—turning the pashu away from time-bound fluctuations toward Śiva through dhyāna, japa, and Linga-upāsanā.