Kali Yuga

And the dark thirteenth day in the month of Nabhasya is remembered as the beginning of Kali. These are indeed known as the Yugādis, and they make gifts (dāna) inexhaustibly fruitful.

And in the age of Kali, O brāhmaṇas, my curse will fall upon you. Yet some brāhmaṇas will always remain—endowed with every virtue.

Kali is remembered as four lakhs and thirty-two thousand (human years). By these four (ages taken together), the ‘yuga’ of the gods is thus spoken of.

O learned one, in this iron Age of Kali men almost always have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.

Then, in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha, the son of Añjanā, in the province of Gayā, just for the purpose of deluding those who are envious of the faithful theist.

The great sage, who was fully equipped in knowledge, could see through his transcendental vision the deterioration of everything material due to the influence of the age. He could also see that the faithless people in general would be…

By my grace you will become fond of the narratives of Kali’s playful deeds; and your course shall be unhindered—in heaven, on earth, and in the netherworld.

Salutations to you, whose sport is joyous delight, and who embodies all the gods. In the age of Kali, you are the agent of dissolution; indeed, you are remembered as Mahākāla.

It destroys sin, subdues the wicked, and increases nourishment, prosperity, and strength. It bestows success and fame, and it destroys the impurities of the Kali age as well.

This royal lineage of the Ikṣvākus will come to its terminus in Sumitra; for when that king is reached, the dynasty will meet its cessation in the age of Kali.

O Maitreya, among those people there arises the very seed of unrighteousness—born of darkness and greed—stirring up passion and the like, and rendering them unfit for what is right and worthy.

Then the sacrificial rites no longer moved forward; the ascetics ceased to practice austerity; and the minds of people no longer turned toward dharma—toward giving, and the other sacred duties that uphold the world’s order.