Shloka 71

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

Devanagari script

वर्णाश्रमपरिभ्रष्टाः संकटं घोरमास्थिताः एवं कष्टमनुप्राप्ता अल्पशेषाः प्रजास्तदा

Transliteration

varṇāśramaparibhraṣṭāḥ saṃkaṭaṃ ghoramāsthitāḥ evaṃ kaṣṭamanuprāptā alpaśeṣāḥ prajāstadā

Translation

Having fallen away from the disciplines of varṇa and āśrama, the people entered a terrible calamity. Thus afflicted by suffering, the beings then became few in number—only a small remnant remained.

Word by Word

• वर्णाश्रम (varṇāśrama): the ordered disciplines of social-spiritual life

• परिभ्रष्टाः (paribhraṣṭāḥ): fallen away, deviated

• संकटम् (saṅkaṭam): calamity, distress

• घोरम् (ghoram): dreadful, terrifying

• आस्थिताः (āsthitāḥ): having entered, having come to

• एवम् (evam): thus

• कष्टम् (kaṣṭam): hardship, suffering

• अनुप्राप्ताः (anuprāptāḥ): having attained, having undergone

• अल्पशेषाः (alpaśeṣāḥ): with only a small remainder left

• प्रजाः (prajāḥ): creatures, people, subjects

• तदा (tadā): then, at that time

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 calamity as a result of dharmic deviation (pāśa strengthening); Linga-worship is implied as a restoring axis of dharma—turning the pashu back toward Pati (Shiva) through devotion and right conduct.

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

By implication, Shiva-tattva stands as Pati—the stabilizing, dharma-restoring Lord—while suffering and social collapse reflect the pashu’s entanglement in pāśa when divine-centered order is abandoned.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No single rite is named, but the takeaway is dharma-sādhana: disciplined living aligned with varṇa-āśrama and Shaiva devotion—foundational to Pashupata-oriented purification that loosens pāśa (bondage).