Shloka 24

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

अनावृष्टिभयप्रायाः प्रजाः क्षुद्भयकातराः भविष्यन्ति तदा सर्वा गगनासक्तदृष्टयः

Transliteration

anāvṛṣṭibhayaprāyāḥ prajāḥ kṣudbhayakātarāḥ bhaviṣyanti tadā sarvā gaganāsaktadṛṣṭayaḥ

Translation

Then all people will live in constant dread of drought; tormented by fear of hunger, they will keep their gaze fixed upon the sky, anxiously awaiting the mercy of rain.

Word by Word

• anāvṛṣṭi-bhaya-prāyāḥ: mostly fearful due to lack of rain
• anāvṛṣṭi-bhaya-prāyāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — प्रजाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-āvṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + prāya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) — विशेषणम्; समासः: अनावृष्टेः भयम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + भयप्रायः (तत्पुरुष)

• prajāḥ: people, subjects
• prajāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: prajā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम्

• kṣud-bhaya-kātarāḥ: distressed from fear of hunger
• kṣud-bhaya-kātarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — प्रजाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: kṣudh (प्रातिपदिक) + bhaya (प्रातिपदिक) + kātara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: बहुवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative) — विशेषणम्; समासः: क्षुधः भयम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + भयकातरः (तत्पुरुष)

• bhaviṣyanti: will become / will be
• bhaviṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: bhū (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• tadā: then
• tadā: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tadā (अव्यय)
• Form: कालवाचक-अव्ययम् (temporal adverb)

• sarvāḥ: all
• sarvāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — प्रजाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् — विशेषणम्

• gagana-āsakta-dṛṣṭayaḥ: with eyes fixed on the sky
• gagana-āsakta-dṛṣṭayaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — प्रजाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gagana (प्रातिपदिक) + āsakta (कृदन्त; √sañj/√saj धातु, क्त) + dṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् — बहुव्रीहिः (येषां दृष्टयः गगने आसक्ताः ते); समासाङ्गानि: गगने आसक्ताः (सप्तमी-तत्पुरुष) + आसक्तदृष्टि (कर्मधारय/तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (in discourse to Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kali-yuga sufferings affecting society and livelihood

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When dharma wanes, collective life becomes dominated by fear and scarcity, revealing dependence on forces beyond human control.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate resilience through charity, shared resources, and prayerful humility; respond to scarcity with compassion rather than panic.

Vishishtadvaita: Human dependence (śeṣatva) becomes visible in crisis; turning the gaze upward can be reoriented from mere rain-waiting to remembrance of the Lord as sustainer.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• People (Prajā)

FAQs

What is the significance of drought and famine in the Vishnu Purana’s description of Kali-yuga?

This verse presents drought and hunger as key Kali-yuga afflictions, showing how social stability collapses when nature’s rhythms fail and people live in constant anxiety.

How does Sage Parāśara explain human suffering in Kali-yuga in this passage?

Parāśara depicts suffering as pervasive and collective—people become fear-driven, watching the sky for rain—highlighting the insecurity that characterizes the age.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

By portraying the fragility of worldly supports in Kali-yuga, the text implicitly directs the listener toward Vishnu as the stable Supreme refuge beyond fluctuating conditions.