Shloka 3
Cessation of the Brahma–Kṣatra Rooted Royal Line at Kṣemaka in Kali-yuga
ब्रह्मक्षत्रस्य यो योनिर् वंशो राजर्षिसत्कृतः क्षेमकं प्राप्य राजानं स संस्थां प्राप्स्यते कलौ
brahmakṣatrasya yo yonir vaṃśo rājarṣisatkṛtaḥ kṣemakaṃ prāpya rājānaṃ sa saṃsthāṃ prāpsyate kalau
That illustrious royal line, sprung from the Brahma–Kṣatra source and honored by the sage-kings, having reached King Kṣemaka, will in the age of Kali come to its cessation.
Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Continuation and termination of royal dynasties in Kali-yuga
Teaching: Genealogical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: Even illustrious sovereignties and lineages culminate and cease under the governance of Time (kāla), reminding rulers and hearers of impermanence and dharma’s fragility in Kali.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Hold power and achievement lightly, cultivate dharma and devotion rather than dynastic pride, and plan life with awareness of change.
Vishishtadvaita: Kāla and historical process are read as Bhagavān’s ordinance: worldly orders persist as His body (śarīra) yet remain dependent and mutable under His rule.
Vamsha: Chandra
Key Kings: Kṣemaka
Vishnu Form: Para-Brahman
FAQs
This verse uses Kali Yuga as the marker of historical and moral decline in which even honored dynasties reach their end, underscoring impermanence and the turning of the yuga-cycle.
Parāśara presents genealogy as governed by time (kāla): lineages rise, are celebrated by rājarṣis, and then conclude at specific kings—here, at Kṣemaka—showing a patterned closure within the yugas.
Even when Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Purāṇic doctrine implies that time and the yuga-order operate under the Supreme Lord; the fall of dynasties becomes a lesson in reliance on the eternal Vishnu beyond transient power.