Sanskrit Prakrit Jain Vyakaran aur Kosh ki Parampara

Author(s): Chandanmalmuni, Nathmalmuni, Others
Publisher: Kalugani Janma Shatabdi Samaroha Samiti Chapar

Page 562

७० . संस्कृत-प्राकृत व्याकरण और कोश की परम्परा
and Tretā can be easily associated with two and three respectively on the basis of their phonetic similarity with Dvi and Tri Though etymological association of Kịta with four is not evident yet it may be concluded that Krta, Treta, Dyāpara and Kali dating is going backward into the past, the present is marked as the first, the immediate past as the second and farther and farthest pasts as the third and the fourth respectively
Apart from the etymological associations as suggested above the words Kļia, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kalı were connected with the numbers 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively from very early times. These four words were primarily associated with the game of dice The ancient practice of playing with dice was to pick up tiny Vibhitaka nuts, which were thrown on the board for this purpose, and to count them If the number picked up by a player happened to be the multiple of four he had obtained Kita which was the highest score If it was not so the score was determined according to the remainder three fetched Tretā, two Dvāpai a and one Kal The first three scores viz Kệta, Tretā and Dyāpara were winning once in descending order The last viz Kal entailed lose ? In the Vedas these words have been used to denote scores in the game of dice as mentioned above where as they have not been used to denote the four ages
The ancient practice of playing with dice underwent a change, centuries before the beginning of the Christian era and the place of the Vibhitaka nuts was taken by the four-faced metallic or earthern die marked with the digits 4, 3, 2, and 1 or bearing as many points on the respective faces After the throw by the player the figure or points on the upward face decided the score, ie it was Krta when the face bearing the digit 4 or as many points was upward and so on down to Kali
These words are met with in ancient Jaina Āgamas viz. Ācārāmga and Bhagavati 4 Here they have been used to denote different organizations of the atoms in matter When the number of atoms is a multiple of four the organization is called Katajunima (Sanskrit Kitayugma) When it is not so the nomen clature follows the remainder after a division by four, being