Shloka 27

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

अस्नानभोजिनो नाग्निदेवतातिथिपूजनम् करिष्यन्ति कलौ प्राप्ते न च पित्र्योदकक्रियाम्

Transliteration

asnānabhojino nāgnidevatātithipūjanam kariṣyanti kalau prāpte na ca pitryodakakriyām

Translation

When the age of Kali has arrived, people will eat without the purificatory bath; they will not worship Agni, the gods, or honored guests—and they will not perform even the ancestral water-rites.

Word by Word

• asnānabhojinaḥ: (people) who eat without bathing
• asnānabhojinaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता) — (अध्याहृत) जनाः/मानवाः इत्यस्य विशेषणम्
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-snānabhojin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचनम् — विशेषणम्; समासः: अस्नानः (नञ्) + भोजिन् (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक) → ‘without bathing, eating’ (द्वन्द्वार्थ-समाहार/तत्पुरुष)

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• agni-devatā-atithi-pūjanam: worship of fire, deities, and guests
• agni-devatā-atithi-pūjanam: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: agni (प्रातिपदिक) + devatā (प्रातिपदिक) + atithi (प्रातिपदिक) + pūjana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; समासः: अग्नि-देवता-अतिथि (इतरेतर-द्वन्द्व) + पूजनम् (तत्पुरुष: तेषां पूजनम्)

• kariṣyanti: will do
• kariṣyanti: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √kṛ (धातु)
• Form: लृट्-लकारः (Simple Future), प्रथमपुरुषः (3rd person), बहुवचनम्; परस्मैपदम्

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

• prāpte: when (it) has come/arrived
• prāpte: Adhikaraṇa (Circumstantial locus/सति-सप्तमी)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: prāpta (कृदन्त; √āp धातु, क्त, प्र-)
• Form: सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचनम्, पुंलिङ्गे/नपुंसकलिङ्गे — सति-सप्तमी (locative absolute) ‘when (Kali) has arrived’

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (Negation/निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्ययम् (negation particle)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय-अव्ययम् (conjunction)

• pitṛ-udaka-kriyām: the water-rite for the ancestors (libations)
• pitṛ-udaka-kriyām: Karman (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक) + udaka (प्रातिपदिक) + kriyā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गे द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचनम्; समासः: पितॄणाम् उदकम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष) + उदकक्रिया (तत्पुरुष)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Ritual and ethical collapse in Kali-yuga (loss of purity, worship, hospitality, ancestral rites)

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Neglect of daily purification, worship, hospitality, and pitṛ-offerings signifies the severing of dharmic reciprocity that upholds human life.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Rebuild simple daily sādhana: cleanliness, gratitude rituals, honoring guests/elders, and remembrance of ancestors; align action with devotion rather than mere formality.

Vishishtadvaita: In Viśiṣṭādvaita, karmas become meaningful when offered to the Lord; even minimal nitya-karmas, done as kainkarya, sustain a God-centered life amid Kali.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Agni
• Devatāḥ (gods)
• Atithi (guest)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the significance of honoring Agni, the gods, and guests in the Vishnu Purana’s description of Kali-yuga?

This verse treats their worship as a basic marker of dharma; its abandonment signals the collapse of daily sacred order in Kali-yuga.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Kali-yuga through everyday conduct rather than abstract theory?

He points to practical omissions—bathing before meals, pūjā to Agni and the devas, and hospitality—showing Kali’s decline as lived behavior.

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

The yuga-cycle unfolds within Vishnu’s supreme governance; the verse highlights how beings fall from dharma in Kali, thereby intensifying the need for refuge in the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) and dharmic restoration.