Sanskrit Prakrit Jain Vyakaran aur Kosh ki Parampara

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

Page 566

७४ सस्कृत-प्राकृत व्याकरण और कोश की परम्परा
goes on The reckoning of time is again taken up and claborated in the Shantı Par va at chapter 231 Verses 19 onwards. It compares with the reckoning of time given in the Manusinsti at chapter I Verses 69 onwards
Neither the Mahābhārata nor the Manusiiti contains any suggestion to warrant that the texts mean the celestial years and not the human years But the commentators invariably impose the celestial years each of which, according to them, consists of 360 human years
This sort of reckoning of the four ages is a recurrent theme in the Purānas, Linga, Kūrma, Vāyu, Brahmānda, Matsya, Visnu and Bhagavata-all these Purānas contain the yuga-reckoning which falls in with that of the Mahabhārata cited above, except that Visnu, Matsya and Bhāgavat explicitly mention the celestial years
It seems that the imposition of the celestial years is a postMahābhārata manipulation Dr. Fleet assums that the astronomers of the 4th century India found a coincidence of planets some 3500 years thence which they took as the beginning point of the Kalı era Now the 1000 years duration for Kalı not reconciling with the astronomical reckonings the celestial years were imposed to make it sufficiently accomodating Since one human year contained 360 days, one celestical year come to 360 human years At this rate the whole periods of Krta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kalı came to 1728000, 129600, 864000 and 432000 years respectively 12
At this stage these words are so metamorphosed that they caunot be easily traced back to the primary denotations in the game of dice, nay, it is difficult to believe that they had ever anything to do with the game of dice But a close examination would reveal that the genu of the primary meanings are not extinct for the ratio of the total periods of duration of the ages is 4 3 2 1 which reminds one of the primary denotations of the terms Krta, Tretā, Dvāpar and Kalı In the game of dice these words were associated with the numbers 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively Moreover they also denoted the best, second best,