Verse 1.82 [Virtue loses one ‘foot’ in each succeeding Cycle]

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration and English translation by Ganganath Jha:

इतरेष्वागमाद् धर्मः पादशस्त्ववरोपितः ।
चौरिकानृतमायाभिर्धर्मश्चापैति पादशः ॥ ८२ ॥

itareṣvāgamād dharmaḥ pādaśastvavaropitaḥ |
caurikānṛtamāyābhirdharmaścāpaiti pādaśaḥ || 82 ||

In the other Cycles, virtue fell off from the scriptures, foot by foot; and on account of theft, falsehood and fraud, virtuous acts deteriorated foot by foot—(82).

 

Medhātithi’s commentary (manubhāṣya):

In the Cycles other than the Kṛta;—‘from the scriptures,’ called ‘Veda’;—‘virtue’—‘foot by foot’—by one foot in each succeeding Cycle,—‘fell off,’ was carried away;—the Vedic Texts disappeared, by reason of the deterioration in the powers of learning and assimilating of men (le arning the texts).

The ‘virtuous acts’—in the form of the Jyotiṣṭoma and other sacrifices, that are performed now a days,—these also ‘deteriorated foot by foot’ on account of ‘theft’ &c.; i.e., since Priests, Sacrifices, Bestowers and Recipients of gifts, are all beset with the said evils, the virtuous act is not accomplished in the proper manner, and hence the result mentioned (as accruing from that act) also is not attained. In as much as this is the real meaning, we do not take ‘theft’ and the rest as applied to each of the three Cycles respectively; specially as all of them (theft &c.,) are found prevalent even now a days (in Kali)—(82).

 

Explanatory notes by Ganganath Jha

This verse also has been variously interpreted:—(a) According to Medhātithi it means that during the Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali cycles, ‘Dharma fell off from the scriptures, foot by foot, and that there was deterioration foot by foot in the fruit of Dharma also,—the reason for this latter fact lying in the prevalence of theft, falsehood and fraud during all these three cycles’; and he emphasises the fact that theft eta, are not to be token as pertaining to the three cycles respectively;—(b) according to Kullūka, Nārāyaṇa and Rāghavānanda, the meaning is that during the three cycles, by reason of unjust gains (‘āgamāt’) Dharma successively loses one foot etc., eta;—(c) Govindarāja agrees with Medhātithi, hut with this difference that he appears to favour the view that the deterioration in the results of acts is due to theft, falsehood and fraud respectively,—the view that has been repudiated by Medhātithi;—(d) according to Nandana—‘it having been declared in the preceding verse that in the Kṛta-cycle there were no scriptures, it is now said that during the other three cycles, Dharma is determined by the scriptures,—and it diminishes successively in each age by one quarter.’

This verse is quoted in the Vīramitrodaya—Paribhāṣā, p. 50.

 

Comparative notes by various authors

(Verse 81-86)

See Comparative notes for Verse 1.81 (Dharma in the Kṛta-yuga).