History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.t2.715

v4.c63.t2.715

The Nirukta (I. 20) distinguishes between ancient sages and those of later days in the words,¹⁷⁴³ 'the (ancient) sages had an intuitive perception of *dharma* and they imparted the Vedic mantras by instruction to later (sages) who had no intuitive perception of dharma'. But it does not mention or refer to any theory of four yugas. Both Gaut. I. 3-4 and Āp. Dh. S. II. 6. 13. 7-9 give expression to the view that among sages of old transgressions of dharma and violent actions are observed, but that on account of their distinguished spiritual greatness they incurred no sin, while a person of later days, being weak in spiritual merit, should not imitate them, otherwise he would come to grief. Here a distinction is drawn between very ancient sages and later sages as regards the endowment of spiritual merit, but nothing is said about the names or the theory of the four yugas. Āp. Dh. S. I. 2. 5. 4 further says¹⁷⁴⁴ that sages are not born among men of later days (*avareṣu*) on account of the transgressions of religious ordinances (prevalent in later ages). Therefore, it would not be quite wrong to assume that the theory had not been fully developed even in the times of the early dharmasūtras of Gaut. and Āp. even though both held that they were living in an age of decline and that sages coming after the authors of the *mantras* were inferior.