Shloka 19

Adhyaya 40: Kali-yuga Lakshana, Yuga-sandhyamsha, and the Re-emergence of Dharma

Devanagari script

यतयश् च भविष्यन्ति बहवो ऽस्मिन्कलौ युगे पुरुषाल्पं बहुस्त्रीकं युगान्ते समुपस्थिते

Transliteration

yatayaś ca bhaviṣyanti bahavo 'sminkalau yuge puruṣālpaṃ bahustrīkaṃ yugānte samupasthite

Translation

In dieser Kali‑Yuga werden viele als Entsagende auftreten; und wenn das Ende des Zeitalters herannaht, werden die Männer wenige und die Frauen viele sein.

Word by Word

• यतयः: renunciants/ascetics

• च: and

• भविष्यन्ति: will arise/will be

• बहवः: many

• अस्मिन्: in this

• कलौ: in Kali

• युगे: age

• पुरुष-अल्पम्: few men/scarcity of men

• बहु-स्त्रीकम्: many women/abundance of women

• युग-अन्ते: at the end of the age

• समुपस्थिते: when it has arrived/when it is at hand

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames Kali-yuga as an era of external religiosity and social imbalance, implying that sincere Shiva-bhakti and Linga-puja must be grounded in inner purity rather than mere ascetic appearance.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By highlighting instability at the yuga’s end, the verse indirectly points to Shiva as Pati—the unchanging Lord beyond time—whose grace and Linga-symbol remain the steady refuge for the pashu bound by pasha in Kali.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No single rite is named, but the warning about many “yatayaḥ” supports disciplined Pashupata-style sadhana—authentic renunciation, ethical restraint, and Shiva-centered worship—over superficial marks of asceticism.