Shloka 26

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

दुर्भिक्षम् एव सततं तदा क्लेशम् अनीश्वराः प्राप्स्यन्ति व्याहतसुखप्रमोदा मानवाः कलौ

Transliteration

durbhikṣam eva satataṃ tadā kleśam anīśvarāḥ prāpsyanti vyāhatasukhapramodā mānavāḥ kalau

Translation

In the age of Kali, famine alone will be continual; then, powerless to govern their own lives, human beings will fall into suffering—bereft of happiness and joy, their pleasures struck down and broken.

Word by Word

• durbhikṣam: famine
• durbhikṣam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dur-bhikṣa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; कर्मधारयः (दुष्टं भिक्षम्/भिक्षणम्)

• eva: indeed, only
• eva: Sambandha (Emphasis/अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: अवधारण-अव्ययम् (emphatic particle)

• satatam: constantly
• satatam: Kāla-adhikaraṇa (Time/कालाधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: satata (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण नपुंसक-एकवचन-द्वितीया (adverbial accusative) — ‘always’

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

• kleśam: misery, affliction
• kleśam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kleśa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्

• anīśvarāḥ: powerless, without control
• anīśvarāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — मानवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: an-īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् — विशेषणम् (न-प्रत्ययान्त)

• prāpsyanti: will obtain / will experience
• prāpsyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √āp (धातु) उपसर्गः प्र-
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

• vyāhata-sukha-pramodāḥ: whose happiness and delight are destroyed
• vyāhata-sukha-pramodāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — मानवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vyāhata (कृदन्त; √han धातु, क्त, वि-आ-) + sukha (प्रातिपदिक) + pramoda (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् — बहुव्रीहिः (येषां सुखप्रमोदौ व्याहतौ ते); अन्तर्गतः ‘सुखप्रमोद’ द्वन्द्वः

• mānavāḥ: humans
• mānavāḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम्

• kalau: in the Kali age
• kalau: Adhikaraṇa (Locus/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kali (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kali-yuga as an age of pervasive duḥkha and diminished human agency

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kali-yuga exposes the fragility of worldly happiness, urging dispassion toward pleasures that are easily shattered.

Vedantic Theme: Moksha

Application: Practice moderation and detachment; invest in lasting goods—virtue, service, and remembrance of Hari—rather than fragile enjoyments.

Vishishtadvaita: Worldly sukha is contingent within the Lord’s governance; stable ānanda is found in śaraṇāgati (taking refuge) and service to the Supreme Person.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Humankind (mānavāḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of famine (durbhikṣa) in the Vishnu Purana’s description of Kali Yuga?

This verse presents continual scarcity as a defining symptom of Kali Yuga, showing how the weakening of dharma manifests outwardly as instability in livelihood and basic sustenance.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the idea of being ‘powerless’ (anīśvara) in Kali Yuga?

Parāśara frames Kali Yuga as an era where people lose inner and outer sovereignty—self-control, stability, and dependable order—so suffering (kleśa) becomes their frequent condition.

What is the theological takeaway about Vishnu’s sovereignty in this context?

By depicting the yuga-cycle’s decline, the text implies that true order and well-being are ultimately grounded in the Supreme Lord’s sustaining power; when dharma wanes, worldly joy collapses, pointing back to Vishnu as the stable source of harmony.