Shloka 32
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
निवृत्तयज्ञस्वाध्याया दण्डाजिनविवर्जिता:,(सहस्र चतुर्युगके अन्तिम) कलियुगके अन्तिम भागमें ब्राह्मण यज्ञ, स्वाध्याय, दण्ड और मृगचर्मका त्याग कर देंगे और (भनक्ष्याभक्ष्यका विचार छोड़कर) सब कुछ खाने- पीनेवाले हो जायँगे। तात! ब्राह्मण तो जपसे दूर भागेंगे और शूद्र वैदिक मन्त्रोंके जपमें संलग्न होंगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | nivṛtta-yajña-svādhyāyā daṇḍājina-vivarjitāḥ | (sahasra-caturyugake antima) kali-yugake antima-bhāge brāhmaṇā yajñaṃ svādhyāyaṃ daṇḍam ajinaṃ ca tyakṣyanti, bhakṣyābhakṣya-vivekaṃ vihāya sarva-bhakṣa-bhojino bhaviṣyanti | tāta! brāhmaṇā japaṃ dūrataḥ parityakṣyanti, śūdrāś ca vaidika-mantra-japeṣu saṃlagnā bhaviṣyanti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “In the final portion of the Kali age—at the end of the long cycle of ages—Brahmins will abandon sacrifice and Vedic study; they will give up the staff and the antelope-skin that mark disciplined life. Casting aside discernment about what is fit or unfit to eat, they will become indiscriminate in food and drink. Dear one, Brahmins will flee from japa (sacred recitation), while Śūdras will be engaged in the recitation of Vedic mantras.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Kali-yuga as a period where dharma weakens: traditional markers of disciplined religious life—sacrifice, Vedic study, ascetic emblems, dietary discernment, and japa—are neglected by those expected to uphold them, indicating ethical and spiritual inversion.
Vaiśampāyana delivers a future-oriented description (a Kali-yuga sign) in which Brahmins abandon customary Vedic duties and restraints, while Śūdras are depicted as taking up Vedic mantra-recitation—presented as a reversal of expected social-religious roles.