Shloka 33

कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः

Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma

Devanagari script

ब्राह्मणा: सर्वभक्षाश्न॒ भविष्यन्ति कलौ युगे । अजपा ब्राह्मणास्तात शूद्रा जपपरायणा:,(सहस्र चतुर्युगके अन्तिम) कलियुगके अन्तिम भागमें ब्राह्मण यज्ञ, स्वाध्याय, दण्ड और मृगचर्मका त्याग कर देंगे और (भनक्ष्याभक्ष्यका विचार छोड़कर) सब कुछ खाने- पीनेवाले हो जायँगे। तात! ब्राह्मण तो जपसे दूर भागेंगे और शूद्र वैदिक मन्त्रोंके जपमें संलग्न होंगे

Transliteration

brāhmaṇāḥ sarvabhakṣāśn̥a bhaviṣyanti kalau yuge | ajapā brāhmaṇās tāta śūdrā japaparāyaṇāḥ ||

Translation

قال فايشَمبايانا: «في عصر كالي سيغدو البراهمة آكلين بلا تمييز، يأكلون ما تيسّر. يا عزيزي، سيترك البراهمة انضباط الجَپَة، بينما يتفانى الشودرَة في المانترا-جَپَة.»

Word by Word

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

सर्वभक्षाशिनःeaters of all (indiscriminately)

भविष्यन्तिwill become

कलौin the Kali (age)

युगेin the yuga/age

अजपाःnon-chanters; not engaged in japa

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

तातO dear one / O son

शूद्राःŚūdras

जपपरायणाःdevoted to japa

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

brāhmaṇas

śūdras

Kali yuga

japa (mantra-recitation)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Kali Yuga as a period of inversion and decline in dharmic standards: those expected to uphold restraint, purity, and Vedic discipline (brahmins) abandon key practices like japa and become lax, while those not traditionally associated with Vedic recitation (śūdras) take up japa. The ethical thrust is a warning about erosion of duty and the confusion of social-religious norms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing future characteristics of the Kali age as part of a broader discourse on yuga-dharma (the changing nature of righteousness across ages). This line highlights behavioral and religious-role reversals as signs of the age’s degeneration.