z:\ ambedkar\vol 04\vol4 06.indd MK SJ DK 23 9 2013/YS 9 11 2013 314
314 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
Rishis will be Nirmoha, Tatwadersin, Nishprakampa, Nirutsuka, Dhritimat, Avyaya, and Sutapas; and Chitrasena, Vichitra, and others, will be the kings.”
“In the fourteenth Manwantara, Bhautya will be the Manu; Suchi, the Indra : the five classes of gods will be the Chakshushas, the Pavitras. Kanishthas, Bhrajiras, and Vavriddhas; the seven Rishis will be Agnibahu, Suchi, Sukra, Magadha, Gridhra, Yukta and Ajita; and the sons of the Manu will be Uru, Gabhira, Bradhna, and others, who will be kings, and will rule over the earth.”
The scheme of Manwantaras seems to be designed to provide a governing body for the universe during the period of a Manwantara. Over every Manwantara there presides a Manu as the legislator, Deities to worship, seven Rishis and a King to administer the affairs.
As the Vishnu Purana says [1] :
“The deities of the different classes receive the sacrifices during the Manwantaras to which they severally belong; and the sons of the Manu themselves, and their descendants, are the sovereigns of the earth for the whole of the same term. The Manu, the seven Rishis, the gods, the sons of the Manu, who are kings, and Indra, are the beings who preside over the world during each Manwantara.”
But the scheme of chronology called the Maha Yuga is a most perplexing business.
Why Kalpa should have been divided into Maha Yugas and why a Maha Yuga should have been sub-divided into four Yugas, Krita, Treta, Dwapara and Kali is a riddle which needs explanation. It is not based on mythology and unlike the era it has no reference to any real or supposed history of the Hindus.
In the first place why was the period covered by a Yuga so enormously extended as to make the whole chronoloy appear fabulous and fabricated
In the Rig-Veda the word Yuga occurs at least 38 times. It is used in the sense of age, generation, yoke or tribe. In a few places it appears to refer to a very brief period. In many places it appears to refer to a very brief period and Sayana even goes so far as to render the term yuge yuge by pratidinam i.e. every day.
In the next place the conception of four Yugas is associated with a deterioration in the moral fibre in society. This conception is well stated in the following extract from the Mahabharata [2 ] :
“The Krita is that age in which righteousness is eternal. In the time of that most excellent of Yugas (everything) had been done
1 Wilson’s Vishnu Purana pp. 269-70.
2 Muir’s Sanskrit Text Vol. I pp. 144-146.