Charaka-Samhita — trans. Kaviraj Avinash Chandra Kaviratna

When the Krita age was expiring, in consequence of a few of • the well-to-do haying become covetous their bodies became heavy,

In consequence of the heaviness of the constituents of the body, fatigue appeared (as the result of labour).

From fatigue came sloth,

From sloth came the laying up of stores,

From the laying up of stores came the desire to have as much as possible from all sources.

From the desire to have as much as possible came cupidity or covetousness.80^

The people of the Krita age could behold the deities and the celestial Rishis in consequence of their righteousness. ‘Dharma-yajna-vidhi-vidhanah’ implies ordaxners of regulations in respect of both piety of conduct and sacrifices. It may also mean those that follow such regulations.

‘Qailendra’ is the prince of mountains, i. e., Himavat. ‘Charusphich’ means ‘of handsome hips’. It seems that this part of the aphorism is vitiated. Some¬ thing, it is evident, is wanting. Why should hips alone be referred to ? In describing the human form, many other parts would need mention.

By ‘prasada’ is meant the competence of the limbs to discharge their res^ pective functions.

‘Anricamsya’ is abstention from injury of all kinds ; hence, universal com, passion.

‘Brahmacharyya’ is absence of sexual intemperance. A married man may be a Brahmacharin by abstaining from intemperate sexual communion.

‘Parigraha’ in such connections, means those surroundings of a man to which he is attached, such as wife and children and kinsmen and wealth and houses and fields and cattle, &c. — T.

* ‘UdarasatvagunakarmananT may be interpreted variously.

‘The land and the rest’ implies land, water, air and time.

‘Sampannika’ means a well-to-do man. Chakraparii reads 'Sampatlikq' which means the same thing. — T.

C/JA RAKA-SAMHITA.

p. 481

Then, when the Krita age expired and the Treta came, from covetousness arose rivalry.

From rivalry arose untruthfulness of speech.

From untruthfulness of speech arose lust, wrath, pride, animosity, harshness of conduct, hostilities, fear, heart-burning, grief, and anxiety of heart and other evils.81

In the Treta age, righteousness diminished by a quarter.

Through the disappearance of righteousness by a quarter, the virtues of land and the rest also disappeared by a quarter.

In consequence of this loss, a loss took place, by a quarter, of the properties of oiliness, purity, taste, energy, assimilability, and potency,'2

Through this, the physical frames of human beings, not pro¬ perly supported as before by the crops that grew, owing to these having lost by a quarter their full virtues, as also by food and sports which were losing by a quarter their efficacy, became surcharged with heat and wind and a prey, at the very outset, to diseases and decrepitude.

Hence, living creatures gradually sustained a diminution of the period of life,33

( Here occur some verses ).

In every yuga righteousness diminishes by a quarter in this way. The merits of living creatures also do the same. Even thus the Creation comes to a dissolution.84

At the expiration of each century the period of life, as deter¬ mined for each yuga, of living creatures, diminishes by one year.35*

* A limit is assigned by the Scriptures to the period of man’s life. That limit varies with each yuga. In the first or the Krita yuga, the limit of man’s life is 400 years. In the second or the Treta yuga, the limit is 300 years. In the third or the Dwapara yuga, it is 200 years. In the fourth , or the Kali age, it is 100 years. What the Rishi says here is this : on the expiry of each hundred years, the limit of man’s life suffers a diminution by one year. Thus, four thousand years of the fourth or the Kali age have passed away. As a consequence thereof, the period of man’s life in Kali has sustained a diminution of 40 years. Hence, a man can hope to live now for sixty years. This, it should

p. 482

CA A RA KA -SA MH l TA .

Even this is what is said regarding the cause of the first origin of disease.

Unto the illustrious son of Atri who was telling so, Agnivega said, — Which, verily, O illustrious one, (of the two) is the fact ? Has all life an ordained limit of time ? Or, has it not ?

The illustrious one said, — In this matter, O Agnive9a, (it is seen that) the life of living creatures depends upon a union (of both destiny and exertion).86

Truly, the strength or weakness of the period of life rests on both destiny and exertion. That should be known as destiny which consists of the acts done by oneself in a previous life. That, again, has been called exertion which consists of the acts done in this life.

As regards both these species of acts there is difference of strength and weakness.8'

It is seen that acts are of three kinds : bad, middling, and good.

A union of destiny and exertion, when both are of the foremost kind, is the cause of a long and happy life of the usual run.