Shloka 17
विभूति-योगः (Vibhūti-yoga) — Exemplary Manifestations as a Contemplative Index
सहस्रयुगपर्यन्तमहर्यद् ब्रह्मणो विदु: । रात्रि युगसहस्रान्तां तेडहोरात्रविदो जना:
sahasra-yuga-paryantam ahar yad brahmaṇo viduḥ | rātriṁ yuga-sahasrāntāṁ te 'ho-rātra-vido janāḥ ||
通晓昼夜之理者知道：梵天的一“日”延续一千劫（yuga）；而他的一“夜”亦同样延续，直至一千劫圆满。
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches a cosmic perspective on time: Brahmā’s ‘day’ and ‘night’ are each measured in thousands of yugas. This reframes human concerns within vast cycles of creation and dissolution, encouraging steadiness, humility, and clarity in one’s understanding of duty and spiritual aims.
In the Bhīṣma Parva context, Arjuna is speaking and articulating a doctrinal point about cosmic time—describing how the wise understand Brahmā’s day and night. The narrative moment uses cosmology to deepen the ethical-spiritual frame in which action and responsibility are to be understood.