Shanti Parva Adhyaya 341 Shloka 83 - Mahabharata | Chinese | Vedapath

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Shloka 83

Atithi-prāpti and the Brāhmaṇa’s Deliberation on Triadic Dharma (अतिथिप्राप्तिः धर्मत्रयविचारश्च)

Devanagari script

चतुष्पात्‌ सकलो धर्मों भविष्यत्यत्र वै सुरा: । ततस्त्रेतायुगं नाम त्रयी यत्र भविष्यति

Transliteration

catuṣpāt sakalo dharmo bhaviṣyaty atra vai surāḥ | tatas tretāyugaṃ nāma trayī yatra bhaviṣyati |

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：“诸天啊！在此娑底耶纪（Satya-yuga）中，达摩将圆满建立，四分俱全。其后将到来名为特雷塔纪（Tretā）的时代，在那里，三部吠陀的传统（Veda-trayī）将盛行。”

Word by Word

चतुष्पात्having four quarters/feet (complete in four parts)

सकलःentire, whole

धर्मःdharma, righteousness

भविष्यतिwill be, will come to be

अत्रhere, in this (age/context)

वैindeed, surely

सुराःO gods

ततःthen, thereafter

त्रेतायुगम्the Tretā age

नामnamed, called

त्रयीthe Vedic triad (three Vedas)

यत्रwhere, in which

भविष्यतिwill be, will prevail

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

surāḥ (the gods)

Satya-yuga

Tretā-yuga

Veda-trayī (three Vedas)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse presents a yuga-based ethical framework: in Satya-yuga, dharma stands complete in all four parts, while in the subsequent Tretā-yuga the religious-ethical life is characterized by the prominence of the Veda-trayī. It implies that moral and spiritual conditions vary by cosmic age, and dharma’s fullness is not constant across time.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the succession of world-ages (yugas) to the gods, stating first the condition of Satya-yuga—where dharma is fully intact—and then announcing the coming of Tretā-yuga, marked by the spread and authority of the three Vedas.