Shloka 3
कालकन्यापि बुभुजे पुरञ्जनपुरं बलात् । ययाभिभूत: पुरुष: सद्यो नि:सारतामियात् ॥ ३ ॥
kāla-kanyāpi bubhuje purañjana-puraṁ balāt yayābhibhūtaḥ puruṣaḥ sadyo niḥsāratām iyāt
Gradually Kālakanyā, aided by those perilous soldiers, forcibly seized Purañjana’s city; and the man, overpowered by her, at once became useless for every purpose.
At the fag end of life, when the invalidity of old age attacks a man, his body becomes useless for all purposes. Therefore Vedic training dictates that when a man is in his boyhood he should be trained in the process of brahmacarya — that is, he should be completely engaged in the service of the Lord and should not in any way associate with women. When the boy becomes a young man, he marries between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. When he is married at the right age, he can immediately beget strong, healthy sons. Now female descendants are increasing because young men are very weak sexually. A male child will be born if the husband is sexually stronger than the wife, but if the female is stronger, a female child will be born. Thus it is essential to practice the system of brahmacarya if one wishes to beget a male child when one is married. When one reaches the age of fifty, he should give up family life. At that time one’s child should be grown up so that the father can leave the family responsibilities to him. The husband and wife may then go abroad to live a retired life and travel to different places of pilgrimage. When both the husband and wife lose their attachment for family and home, the wife returns home to live under the care of her grown-up children and to remain aloof from family affairs. The husband then takes sannyāsa to render some service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
FAQs
Kālakanyā is a personification of Time’s power—especially old age—which forcibly overtakes the embodied being and weakens the ‘city’ of the body.
In the allegory, the city represents the body and its faculties; being consumed indicates the inevitable decline of bodily strength and enjoyment under the influence of time.
Remembering that time will diminish all material pleasures helps one cultivate detachment and prioritize steady bhakti—hearing, chanting, and serving the Lord—before old age arrives.