Manava Dharmashastra 1.84

1.84

kecidāhurvaidikaiḥ karmabhiḥ sahasrasaṃvatsarādibhirapekṣitamāyuḥ vedoktam, tat anuyugaṃ phalati, yugānurūpeṇa sampadyate, na sarveṣu yugeṣu | nādya kaścitsahasrasaṃvatsarajīvī ; yaḥ sarvaścirañjīvati sa varṣaśatam | tadapare nādriyante | yato dīrghasattreṣu saṃvatsaraśabde divaseṣu vyavasthāpite vidheyāntaravirodhādvākyabhedāpatteḥ | eṣa hi tatra granthaḥ | 'pañcapañcāśatastrivṛtaḥ saṃvatsarā' ityādi | tatra trīṇyahāni gavāmayanaprakṛtitvātprāptāni | viśiṣṭānusaṅkhyā pañcapañcāśata iti | aprāptavidheyā yadyaparā saṃvatsaratā pratīyeta vākyaṃ bhidyeta | tatrāvaśyamanyatarasyānuvāda āśrayitavyaḥ | saṃvatsaraśabdaḥ saurasāvanādimānabhedena ṣaṣṭyadhikaśatatrayātmano'hnaḥ saṅghātādanyatrāpi dṛṣṭaprayoga eveti | tasyaiva lakṣaṇayā divaseṣvanuvādo yukta iti | anye tu mantrārthavādeṣu 'śataminnu śarado'nti devāḥ' (ṛgveda 1|
89|6) 'śatāyurve puruṣaḥ' (kāṭhaka 34|5) iti śataśabdaśca bahunāmasu paṭhitaḥ, bahutvaṃ cānavasthitam | yugānurūpeṇa dīrghajīvino'lpāyuṣaśca bhavanti | yathāśrutavyākhyāne tu kalau sarve śatāyuṣaśca bhavanti | athavā āyuḥkāmasya yāni karmāṇi, na ca tatra pramāṇaṃ śrutam, tatrānuyugaṃ parimāṇaṃ vedyam | āśiṣaḥ | anyā api phalaviṣayā vedaśāsanāḥ | kāmyānāṃ karmaṇām | āyuṣaḥ kāmyatve'pi prādhānyātpṛthagupadeśaḥ | tathā hyāha "āyurve paramaḥ kāmaḥ" |
prabhāvo'laukikī śaktiraṇimādiguṇayogaḥ, abhiśāpo, varadānam | anuyugaṃ phalantīti sarvatra yojyam |

Others again argue as follows:—Among the Mantra and Arthavāda texts of the Veda we find such egressions as—‘The gods live for a hundred years’, ‘the man’s life is of hundred years’, and so forth,—where the term ‘hundred’ is found used in the sense of ‘many’ and ‘man’ is purely indefinite; hence the meaning (of our text,) is that ‘men are short-lived or long-lived according to the Cycle’.—If the verse were taken in its literal sense, it would mean that during Kali all men live for a hundred years, and this would not be true],—Or, it may mean that the exact extent of ‘full age’—which is found mentioned as the result of sacrifices performed by the man desiring full age—being nowhere defined the extent should be taken as determined by the character of the particular Cycle.

‘Results’—i.e., the things desired as results. described in the Veda, proceeding from acts performed with a purpose.—Though ‘full age’ also is a desired result, yet it has been mentioned separately in view of its importance; as declared in such words as—‘Full age is the highest desirable object’.

‘Power’—i.e. the superphysio faculties, consisting in being equipped with aṇimā (the faculty of becoming as small as one likes) and such other faculties’,—or in the form of ability to pronounce effective curses, as? bestowing effective boons

‘Are obtained in accordance with the character of the Cycle’—this has to be construed with all (three phrases)—(84).

as regards the term ‘Samvatsara’, ‘year’, we find that, on the basis of diverse calculations, known as the ‘Saura’, the ‘Sāvana’ and so forth, it is often used in a sense other than that of a collection of exactly three hundred and sixty day; so that it is only right that this term (and not the term ‘fifty-five’) should be taken figuratively, as being descriptive of ‘days’.