Shloka 11
कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
विवाहा न कलौ धर्म्या न शिष्यगुरुसंस्थितिः न दाम्पत्यक्रमो नैव वह्निदेवात्मकः क्रमः
vivāhā na kalau dharmyā na śiṣyagurusaṃsthitiḥ na dāmpatyakramo naiva vahnidevātmakaḥ kramaḥ
In the age of Kali, marriages will no longer be grounded in dharma; the proper order between disciple and teacher will not endure. Even the sacred discipline of household life will collapse, and the fire-rite—once upheld as a living presence of the gods—will no longer be followed in its true form.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Further Kali-yuga symptoms: degradation of saṃskāras, education lineage, and household rites
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: grave and admonitory
Concept: When saṃskāras and the guru–śiṣya discipline erode, household life and sacred fire rites lose their sanctifying power and dharma’s continuity breaks.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Choose teachers carefully, honor vows and commitments, and sustain daily worship/recitation as a ‘portable’ yajña when formal rites are not feasible.
Vishishtadvaita: Highlights the real efficacy of disciplined practice and lineage transmission within God’s order; their breakdown necessitates intensified reliance on devotion and prapatti as accessible means.
Bhakti Type: Dasya
FAQs
This verse treats vivāha as a dharmic institution (saṃskāra); its corruption is presented as a key marker of Kali-yuga, signaling social and spiritual disorder.
Parāśara frames Kali-yuga as an age where established structures that transmit sacred knowledge—especially the guru–śiṣya relationship—lose stability, leading to weakened discipline and distorted teaching.
Agni represents the divine conduit of Vedic order; saying the ‘fire-as-divine’ procedure will not be followed highlights a retreat from sacred alignment—yet the Purana’s broader stance implies that Vishnu remains the supreme governor even as dharma wanes by yuga-law.