SB 1.4.15–18
विविक्तदेश आसीन उदिते रविमण्डले ॥ १५ ॥
परावरज्ञः स ऋषिः कालेनाव्यक्तरंहसा ।
युगधर्मव्यतिकरं प्राप्तं भुवि युगे युगे ॥ १६ ॥
भौतिकानां च भावानां शक्तिह्रासं च तत्कृतम् ।
अश्रद्दधानान्निःसत्त्वान्दुर्मेधान्ह्रसितायुषः ॥ १७ ॥
दुर्भगांश्च जनान्वीक्ष्य मुनिर्दिव्येन चक्षुषा ।
सर्ववर्णाश्रमाणां यद्दध्यौ हितममोघदृक् ॥ १८ ॥
vivikta-deśa āsīna udite ravi-maṇḍale
parāvara-jñaḥ sa ṛṣiḥ kālenāvyakta-raṁhasā
yuga-dharma-vyatikaraṁ prāptaṁ bhuvi yuge yuge
bhautikānāṁ ca bhāvānāṁ śakti-hrāsaṁ ca tat-kṛtam
aśraddadhānān niḥsattvān durmedhān hrasitāyuṣaḥ
durbhagāṁś ca janān vīkṣya munir divyena cakṣuṣā
sarva-varṇāśramāṇāṁ yad dadhyau hitam amogha-dṛk
Synonyms
kadācit — one day [kasmiṁścid divase67]; ravi-maṇḍale — [while] the sun; udite — was rising; saḥ — he [Vyāsa68]; upaspṛśya — after contacting; śuciḥ — the pure [pavitram69]; jalam — water; sarasvatyāḥ — of the Sarasvatī River [after bathing in the water (jale snānādikaṁ kṛtvā ity arthaḥ);70 and performing ācamana as well as other daily rites and prayers (ācamya-upalakṣaṇaṁ idaṁ nitya-karmāṇi kṛtvā)71]; āsīnaḥ — sat [āsīno babhūvaḥ]; eke — alone [asahāyaḥ72]; vivikte — in a secluded [nirjane73]; deśe — place [signifying Badarikāśrama (anenaiva badarikāśramaṁ sthānaṁ sūcitam), with the intent of one-pointedly focusing his attention (citta-ekāgrya-artham uktam)]; saḥ ṛṣiḥ — that seer [Vyāsa, the seer of all the Vedas (nikhila-nigama-draṣṭā)74]; para-avara-jñaḥ — [who was] cognizant of the past and future [atīta-anāgata-vit]; [vīkṣya — observed75]; yuge yuge — that in each age; bhuvi — on earth; avyakta-raṁhasā — due to the imperceptible surgence [or the invisible impetuosity (anabhivyakta-vegena)76]; kālena — of time; prāptam — there had come to pass; vyatikaram — a transgression [or deterioration (vyatyāsam);77 or a confused intermingling (saṅkaram)]; yuga-dharma — of the dharma prescribed for each age; [vīkṣya] ca — he also observed; śakti-hrāsam — a diminution in potency; bhautikānām — of the material elements; bhāvānām ca — and of their evolutes [the body and so on (śarīrādīnām)]; tat-kṛtam — brought about by time [kāla-kṛtam]; janān — [and that] people; [had become (bhūtān)78]; aśraddadhānān — faithless; niḥsattvān — impotent [devoid of fortitude (dhairya-śūnyān); or bereft of sattva, meaning predominated by distractedness and delusion (rajas-tamo-mayān)79]; durmedhān — less intelligent [manda-matīn]; hrasita-āyuṣaḥ — short-lived [or of diminished life force (hrasita-tejaḥ)]; durbhagān ca — and unfortunate; vīkṣya — having witnessed all this; divyena cakṣuṣā — through divine insight [or the eye of transcendental awareness (alaukikena-jñānātmakena cakṣuṣā)80]; muniḥ — the sage; amogha-dṛk — whose vision was unfailing [who was endowed with infinite wisdom (sarva-jñāna-sampannaḥ)]; dadhyau — began to contemplate; yat hitam — what could be productive of the highest good; sarva-varṇa-āśramāṇām — for all human beings in all vocations and stages of life.
Translation
One day, while the sun was rising, he [Vyāsa], after contacting the pure water of the Sarasvatī River, sat alone in a secluded place [Badarikāśrama]. That seer of all the Vedas, who was cognizant of the past and future, observed that in each yuga on earth, due to the imperceptible surgence of time, there had come to pass a transgression of the dharma prescribed for each age. He also observed that the power of the material elements and their evolutes had diminished through the influence of time and that people had become faithless, impotent, less intelligent, short-lived, and unfortunate. Having witnessed all this through divine insight, the muni, whose vision was unfailing, began to contemplate what could be productive of the highest good for all human beings in all vocations (varṇas) and stages of life (āśramas).