Chapter 231

“Yudhishthira said, ‘I desire, O thou of Kuru’s race, to know what theorigin and what the end is of all creatures; what is the nature of theirmeditation and what are their acts; what are the divisions of time, andwhat the allotted periods of life in the respective epochs. I desire alsoto know in full the truth about the genesis and the conduct of the world;the origin of creatures into the world and the manner of their going on.Indeed, whence their creation and destruction? O best of virtuouspersons, if thou art minded to favour us, do tell us this about which Iask thee. Having heard before this excellent discourse of Bhrigu unto theregenerate sage Bharadwaja which thou didst recite, my understanding,purged of ignorance, has become exceedingly attached to yoga, andwithdrawn from worldly objects rests upon heavenly purity. I ask theeabout the subject, therefore, once more. It behoves thee to discourse tome (more elaborately).’

“Bhishma said, ‘In this connection I shall recite to thee an oldnarrative of what the divine Vyasa said unto his son Suka when the latterhad questioned the former. Having studied the illimitable Vedas with alltheir branches and the Upanishads, and desirous of leading a life ofBrahmacharya in consequence of his having earned excellence of religiousmerit, Suka addressed these very questions, about which his doubts hadbeen solved, to his father the island-born Rishi who had removed (bystudy and contemplation) all doubts connected with the topic of the trueimport of duties.’

“Suka said, ‘It behoveth thee to tell me who the Creator is of allbeings, as fixed by a knowledge of time,[871] and what the duties arethat should be accomplished by a Brahmana.’

“Bhishma said, ‘Unto his son who had questioned him, the sire, having aknowledge of both the past and future, conversant with all duties andendued with omniscience, thus discoursed on the subject.’

“Vyasa said, ‘Only Brahma, which is without beginning and without end,unborn, blazing with effulgence, above decay, immutable, indestructible,inconceivable, and transcending knowledge, exists before theCreation.[872] The Rishis, measuring time, have named particular portionsby particular names. Five and ten winks of the eye make what is called aKashtha. Thirty Kashthas would make what is called a Kala. Thirty Kalas,with the tenth part of a Kala added, make what is known as a Muhurta.Thirty Muhurtas make up one day and night. Thirty days and nights arecalled a month, and twelve months are called a year. Persons conversantwith mathematical science say that a year is made up of two ayanas(dependent on sun’s motion), viz., the northern and the southern. The sunmakes the day and the night for the world of man. The night is for thesleep of all living creatures, and the day is for the doing of action. Amonth of human beings is equal to a day and night of the Pitris. Thatdivision (as regards the Pitris) consists in this: the lighted fortnight(of men) is their day which is for the doing of acts; and the darkfortnight is their night for sleep. A year (of human beings) is equal toa day and night of the gods. The division (as regards the gods) consistsin this: the half year for which the sun travels from the vernal to theautumnal equinox is the day of the deities, and the half year for whichthe sun travels from the latter to the former is their night. Computingby the days and nights of human beings about which I have told thee, Ishall speak of the day and night of Brahman and his years also. I shall,in their order, tell thee the number of years, that are (thus) fordifferent purposes computed differently in respect of the Krita, theTreta, the Dwapara, and the Kali yugas. Four thousand years (of thedeities) is the duration of the first or Krita age. The morning of thatepoch consists of four hundred years and its evening is of four hundredyears. (The total duration, therefore, of the Krita yuga is four thousandand eight hundred years of the deities). As regards the other yugas, theduration of each gradually decreases by a quarter in respect of both thesubstantive period with the conjoining portion and the conjoining portionitself. (Thus the duration of the Treta is three thousand years and itsmorning extends for three hundred years and its evening for threehundred). The duration of the Dwapara also is two thousand years, and itsmorning extends for two hundred years and its evening also for twohundred. The duration of the Kali yuga is one thousand years, and itsmorning extends for one hundred years, and its evening for onehundred.[873] These periods always sustain the never-ending and eternalworlds. They who are conversant with Brahma, O child, regard this asImmutable Brahma. In the Krita age all the duties exists in theirentirety, along with Truth. No knowledge or object came to men of thatage through unrighteous or forbidden means.[874] In the other yugas,duty, ordained in the Vedas, is seen to gradually decline by a quarter ineach. Sinfulness grows in consequence of theft, untruth, and deception.In the Krita age, all persons are free from disease and crowned withsuccess in respect of all their objects, and all live for four hundredyears. In the Treta, the period of life decreases by a quarter. It hasalso been heard by us that, in the succeeding yugas, the words of theVedas, the periods of life, the blessings (uttered by Brahmanas), and thefruits of Vedic rites, all decrease gradually. The duties set down forthe Krita yuga are of one kind. Those for the Treta are otherwise. Thosefor the Dwapara are different. And those for the Kali are otherwise. Thisis in accordance with that decline that marks every succeeding yuga. Inthe Krita, Penance occupies the foremost place. In the Treta, Knowledgeis foremost. In the Dwapara, Sacrifice has been said to be the foremost,In the Kali yuga, only Gift is the one thing that has been laid down. Thelearned say that these twelve thousand years (of the deities) constitutewhat is called a yuga. A thousand such yugas compose a single day ofBrahman.[875] The same is the duration of Brahman’s night. With thecommencement of Brahman’s day the universe begins to start into life.During the period of universal dissolution the Creator sleeps, havingrecourse to yoga-meditation. When the period of slumber expires, Heawakes. That then which is Brahman’s day extends for a thousand suchyugas. His nights also extends for a thousand similar yugas. They whoknow this are said to know the day and the night. On the expiry of Hisnight, Brahman, waking up, modifies the indestructible chit by causing itto be overlaid with Avidya. He then causes Consciousness to spring up,whence proceeds Mind which is identical with the Manifest.'”[876]