एवं शुश्रूषवो दाने सत्ये प्राण्यभिरक्षणे ततः पादप्रवृत्ते तु धर्मे श्रेयो निपत्स्यते
Thus, attentive in giving, in truth, and in protecting living beings, when dharma takes root, excellence will be attained.
तेषां लब्धानुमानानां गुणेषु परिवर्तताम् स्वादु किं त्व् इति विज्ञाय धर्म एव च दृश्यते
For those who have gained discernment, revolving among virtues, recognizing what is truly pleasant, only dharma is perceived.
यथा हानिक्रमं प्राप्तास् तथा ऋद्धिक्रमं गताः प्रगृहीते ततो धर्मे प्रपश्यन्ति कृतं युगम्
Just as decline was reached, so too is prosperity attained; when dharma is firmly grasped, they behold the age of accomplishment.
साधुवृत्तिः कृतयुगे कषाये हानिर् उच्यते एक एव तु कालो ऽयं हीनवर्णो यथा शशी
Virtuous conduct prevails in the Krita age; in the impure age, decline is spoken of. Yet this is but one era, pale as the moon.
छन्नश् च तमसा सोमो यथा कलियुगं तथा मुक्तश् च तमसा सोम एवं कृतयुगं च तत्
Just as the moon is covered by darkness, so is the Kali age; and as the moon is freed from darkness, so is the Krita age.
अर्थवादः परं ब्रह्म वेदार्थ इति तं विदुः अविविक्तम् अविज्ञातं दायाद्यम् इह धार्यते
Praise is the supreme Brahman; they know it as the meaning of the Vedas. Unclear, unknown, inheritance is maintained here.
इष्टवादस् तपो नाम तपो हि स्थविरीकृतः गुणैः कर्माभिनिर्वृत्तिर् गुणाः शुध्यन्ति कर्मणा
Praise is called austerity; austerity is established through age. Through virtues, action is accomplished; virtues are purified by action.
आशीस् तु पुरुषं दृष्ट्वा देशकालानुवर्तिनी युगे युगे यथाकालम् ऋषिभिः समुदाहृता
Blessings, seeing a person, follow place and time; in each age, as appropriate, they are declared by the sages.
धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणां देवानां च प्रतिक्रिया आशिषश् च शिवाः पुण्यास् तथैवायुर् युगे युगे
For dharma, wealth, desire, liberation, and the gods, there are corresponding actions; auspicious and virtuous blessings, likewise lifespan, in every age.
तथा युगानां परिवर्तनानि चिरप्रवृत्तानि विधिस्वभावात् क्षणं न संतिष्ठति जीवलोकः क्षयोदयाभ्यां परिवर्तमानः
Thus, the changes of the ages, long established, occur by the nature of fate; the world of living beings does not remain even for a moment, constantly changing through decline and rise.
सर्वेषाम् एव भूतानां त्रिविधः प्रतिसंचरः नैमित्तिकः प्राकृतिकस् तथैवात्यन्तिको मतः
For all beings, there are three kinds of dissolution: occasional, natural, and absolute, as taught.
ब्राह्मो नैमित्तिकस् तेषां कल्पान्ते प्रतिसंचरः आत्यन्तिको वै मोक्षश् च प्राकृतो द्विपरार्धिकः
Among them, the Brahma dissolution is occasional, occurring at the end of a kalpa; the absolute is liberation, and the natural is of two parardhas.
परार्धसंख्यां भगवंस् त्वम् आचक्ष्व यथोदिताम् द्विगुणीकृतयज्ज्ञेयः प्राकृतः प्रतिसंचरः
O Blessed One, declare the number of a parārdha as it is stated; the dissolution of the elements is to be understood as twice that measure.
स्थानात् स्थानं दशगुणम् एकैकं गण्यते द्विजाः ततो ऽष्टादशमे भागे परार्धम् अभिधीयते
From one station to the next, O twice-born, each is counted as ten times the previous; thus, in the eighteenth division, it is called a parārdha.
परार्धं द्विगुणं यत् तु प्राकृतः स लयो द्विजाः तदाव्यक्ते ऽखिलं व्यक्तं सहेतौ लयम् एति वै
That which is twice a parārdha is the great dissolution of the elements, O twice-born; then, when the unmanifest prevails, all that is manifest merges into it along with its cause.
निमेषो मानुषो यो ऽयं मात्रामात्रप्रमाणतः तैः पञ्चदशभिः काष्ठा त्रिंशत् काष्ठास् तथा कला
A human blink, measured precisely, is the unit; fifteen of these make a kāṣṭhā, and thirty kāṣṭhās make a kalā.
नाडिका तु प्रमाणेन कला च दश पञ्च च उन्मानेनाम्भसः सा तु पलान्य् अर्धत्रयोदश
A nāḍikā is measured as fifteen kalās; by the measure of water, it is said to be twelve and a half palas.
हेममाषैः कृतच्छिद्रा चतुर्भिश् चतुरङ्गुलैः मागधेन प्रमाणेन जलप्रस्थस् तु स स्मृतः
A vessel pierced with four gold beans, each four aṅgulas in size, by the Māgadha standard, is known as a water prastha.
नाडिकाभ्याम् अथ द्वाभ्यां मुहूर्तो द्विजसत्तमाः अहोरात्रं मुहूर्तास् तु त्रिंशन् मासो दिनैस् तथा
O best of twice-born, two nāḍikās make a muhūrta; thirty muhūrtas make a day and night, and a month consists of such days.
मासैर् द्वादशभिर् वर्षम् अहोरात्रं तु तद् दिवि त्रिभिर् वर्षशतैर् वर्षं षष्ट्या चैवासुरद्विषाम्
Twelve months make a year, and a day and night in heaven is equal to three hundred years of the enemies of the gods.
तैस् तु द्वादशसाहस्रैश् चतुर्युगम् उदाहृतम् चतुर्युगसहस्रं तु कथ्यते ब्रह्मणो दिनम्
By those twelve thousand years, a caturyuga is declared; a thousand caturyugas is said to be a day of Brahmā.
स कल्पस् तत्र मनवश् चतुर्दश द्विजोत्तमाः तदन्ते चैव भो विप्रा ब्रह्मनैमित्तिको लयः
That is a kalpa, in which there are fourteen Manus, O best of Brahmins; at its end, O sages, occurs the dissolution caused by Brahmā.
तस्य स्वरूपम् अत्युग्रं द्विजेन्द्रा गदतो मम शृणुध्वं प्राकृतं भूयस् ततो वक्ष्याम्य् अहं लयम्
Hear from me, O foremost of twice-born, the exceedingly fierce nature of that dissolution; after this, I will further describe the dissolution of the elements.
चतुर्युगसहस्रान्ते क्षीणप्राये महीतले अनावृष्टिर् अतीवोग्रा जायते शतवार्षिकी
At the end of a thousand caturyugas, when the earth is nearly depleted, there arises a most terrible drought lasting a hundred years.
ततो यान्य् अल्पसाराणि तानि सत्त्वान्य् अनेकशः क्षयं यान्ति मुनिश्रेष्ठाः पार्थिवान्य् अतिपीडनात्
Then, O best of sages, all beings with little strength, especially those of the earth, perish due to extreme suffering.
ततः स भगवान् कृष्णो रुद्ररूपी तथाव्ययः क्षयाय यतते कर्तुम् आत्मस्थाः सकलाः प्रजाः
Then that Blessed One, Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Rudra and imperishable, strives to bring about the destruction of all beings established in himself.
ततः स भगवान् विष्णुर् भानोः सप्तसु रश्मिषु स्थितः पिबत्य् अशेषाणि जलानि मुनिसत्तमाः
Then that Blessed Viṣṇu, abiding in the seven rays of the sun, drinks up all the waters, O best of sages.
पीत्वाम्भांसि समस्तानि प्राणिभूतगतानि वै शोषं नयति भो विप्राः समस्तं पृथिवीतलम्
Having drunk all the waters found in living beings, O Brahmins, he brings about the drying up of the entire surface of the earth.
समुद्रान् सरितः शैलाञ् शैलप्रस्रवणानि च पातालेषु च यत् तोयं तत् सर्वं नयति क्षयम्
He causes the destruction of all the oceans, rivers, mountains, mountain springs, and all the water that is in the netherworlds.
ततस् तस्याप्य् अभावेन तोयाहारोपबृंहिताः सहस्ररश्मयः सप्त जायन्ते तत्र भास्कराः
Then, due to the absence of that water, seven suns with a thousand rays each arise there, nourished by the lack of moisture.