Shloka 8

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

Devanagari script

भ्रूणहत्या वीरहत्या प्रजायन्ते प्रजासु वै शूद्राश् च ब्राह्मणाचाराः शूद्राचाराश् च ब्राह्मणाः

Transliteration

bhrūṇahatyā vīrahatyā prajāyante prajāsu vai śūdrāś ca brāhmaṇācārāḥ śūdrācārāś ca brāhmaṇāḥ

Translation

Indeed, among the people arise the sins of killing an embryo and slaying heroic men; and social conduct becomes inverted—śūdras adopt the discipline of brāhmaṇas, while brāhmaṇas fall into śūdra-like ways. Such disorder is a mark of bondage (paśutva) under the cords of adharma, calling for return to Śiva-dharma and right worship of the Pati (Śiva).

Word by Word

• भ्रूणहत्या: killing of an embryo/foeticide

• वीरहत्या: killing of heroes/valiant men

• प्रजायन्ते: are born/arise

• प्रजासु: among the people

• वै: indeed

• शूद्राः: Śūdras

• च: and

• ब्राह्मणाचाराः: having Brāhmaṇa conduct/discipline

• शूद्राचाराः: having Śūdra conduct

• च: and

• ब्राह्मणाः: Brāhmaṇas

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages at Naimisharanya)

FAQs

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

It frames moral disorder and grave violence as signs of deepening bondage (pāśa); Linga-worship is implied as a return to Śiva-dharma—purifying conduct, restoring sattva, and reorienting the paśu (soul) toward the Pati (Śiva).

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

Śiva-tattva is implied as the stabilizing Pati-principle: when dharma collapses and roles invert, the remedy is alignment with the Lord beyond social confusion—Śiva as the ground of order, purity, and liberation from pāśa.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No single rite is named, but the takeaway aligns with Pāśupata discipline: purification of conduct (ācāra-śuddhi), restraint from हिंसा (violence), and steady devotion through Śiva-pūjā as the corrective to adharma.