Charak Samhita

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संवत्सरशते पूर्णे याति संवत्सरः क्षयम्| देहिनामायुषः काले यत्र यन्मानमिष्यते ||२६||

sanskrit

With the onset of the tretayuga, greed gave rise to malice in its wake, malice led to falsehood, and falsehood led to passion, anger, vanity, hatred, cruelty, aggression, fear, grief, anxiety, distress and the like. Symbolically, during tretayuga, one-fourth of dharma (religious duties) disappeared, resulting in reduction of the life-span of human beings by a quarter. Similarly, there was reduction in the attributes of earth etc., by a quarter. Because of the reduction of these attributes there was diminution by one quarter of the unctuousness, purity, tastes (rasa), potency (veerya), post digestive effects (vipaka), prabhava and qualities of grains. In effect, this degradation impacted all aspects of living beings that were described to have existed in the satyayuga. There was an unusual change in the maintenance of equilibrium of tissue elements and there was vitiation of agni (pitta) and maruta (vata) by which, first of all, bodies of living beings got afflicted with diseases viz. jwara (fever) etc. Therefore the life-span of living beings underwent gradual diminution.

english translation

saMvatsarazate pUrNe yAti saMvatsaraH kSayam| dehinAmAyuSaH kAle yatra yanmAnamiSyate ||26||

hk transliteration

इति विकाराणां प्रागुत्पत्तिहेतुरुक्तो भवति ||२७||

sanskrit

The concluding verse: With the passage of each yuga, righteousness or dharma gets reduced by a quarter, with similar reduction in the qualities of living beings, finally leading to dissolution of the universe. After completion of one hundred years in each yuga there is loss of one year in life span of living beings in respective age. Thus the initial origin of disorders is described.

english translation

iti vikArANAM prAgutpattiheturukto bhavati ||27||

hk transliteration

एवंवादिनं भगवन्तमग्निवेश उवाच- किन्नु खलु भगवन्! नियतकालप्रमाणमायुः सर्वं न ति ||२८||

sanskrit

After lord Atreya’s talk, Agnivesha raised a query- Lord! Is the life span of all individuals predetermined or is it not?

english translation

evaMvAdinaM bhagavantamagniveza uvAca- kinnu khalu bhagavan! niyatakAlapramANamAyuH sarvaM na ti ||28||

hk transliteration

तं भगवानुवाच- इहाग्निवेश! भूतानामायुर्युक्तिमपेक्षते| दैवे पुरुषकारे च स्थितं ह्यस्य बलाबलम् ||२९||

sanskrit

[Factors determining the life span] Lord Atreya replied, “Agnivesha! The life span of all living beings depends on the proper coordination of two factors, namely, daiva (divine/pre-determined) and purushakara (human effort).

english translation

taM bhagavAnuvAca- ihAgniveza! bhUtAnAmAyuryuktimapekSate| daive puruSakAre ca sthitaM hyasya balAbalam ||29||

hk transliteration

दैवमात्मकृतं विद्यात् कर्म यत् पौर्वदैहिकम्| स्मृतः पुरुषकारस्तु क्रियते यदिहापरम् ||३०||

sanskrit

Daiva means one’s own deeds in the previous life while purushakara stands for one’s actions (deeds) in this life”.

english translation

daivamAtmakRtaM vidyAt karma yat paurvadaihikam| smRtaH puruSakArastu kriyate yadihAparam ||30||

hk transliteration