Shloka 41

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

भवित्री योषितां सूतिः पञ्चषट्सप्तवार्षिकी नवाष्टदशवर्षाणां मनुष्याणां तथा कलौ

Transliteration

bhavitrī yoṣitāṃ sūtiḥ pañcaṣaṭsaptavārṣikī navāṣṭadaśavarṣāṇāṃ manuṣyāṇāṃ tathā kalau

Translation

In the age of Kali, women will be able to bear children as early as the fifth, sixth, or seventh year; and people will be regarded as mature at nine, eight, or even ten years of age.

Word by Word

• भवित्री: will be/shall become
• भवित्री: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भू (धातु) → भवितृ (कृदन्त)
• Form: भविष्यत्कृदन्त/कर्तृवाचक-प्रत्यय (तृन्/तृच्-आधारित), स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘सूतिः’ इति विशेषणम्

• योषिताम्: of women
• योषिताम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योषित् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• सूतिः: childbirth
• सूतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पञ्चषट्सप्तवार्षिकी: of five-, six-, or seven-years (age)
• पञ्चषट्सप्तवार्षिकी: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च-षट्-सप्त-वार्षिकी (प्रातिपदिक; पञ्च + षट् + सप्त + वार्षिकी)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; संख्यापदानां द्वन्द्वः (पञ्च च षट् च सप्त च) + वार्षिकी; ‘सूतिः’ इति विशेषणम्

• नवाष्टदशवर्षाणाम्: of nine- and eighteen-years (age)
• नवाष्टदशवर्षाणाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नव-अष्टादश-वर्ष (प्रातिपदिक; नव + अष्टादश + वर्ष)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; संख्याद्वन्द्वः (नव च अष्टादश च) + वर्ष; ‘मनुष्याणाम्’ इत्यस्य विशेषण-सम्बन्धः (age-range)

• मनुष्याणाम्: of humans
• मनुष्याणाम्: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• तथा: likewise/also
• तथा: Sambandha (Adverbial/अव्यय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; प्रकारवाचक/समुच्चयार्थे (thus/likewise)

• कलौ: in the Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन (कलियुगे)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kali-yuga markers affecting human body, society, and dharma

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: In Kali-yuga, natural and social rhythms distort, with premature maturity undermining the protective stages of life prescribed by dharma.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Safeguard education, health, and ethical formation of children; uphold age-appropriate responsibilities and protections.

Vishishtadvaita: Āśrama-dharma supports the soul’s gradual cultivation for devotion; its collapse obstructs the embodied jīva’s Godward growth.

Characters & Entities

• Human society (manuṣyāḥ)
• Women (yoṣitaḥ)

FAQs

What is the significance of early maturity in Kali-yuga in the Vishnu Purana?

It functions as a social symptom of Kali-yuga—an indicator of accelerated, disordered living and the weakening of dharma and stable life-stages.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Kali-yuga conditions in this section?

Parāśara lists concrete, observable changes in society and human conduct—using them as markers of the yuga’s moral and spiritual decline within the larger cycle of time.

The theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

Even as Kali-yuga brings degeneration, the Purana frames time and its cycles as operating under Vishnu’s supreme governance, preserving cosmic order and enabling eventual restoration.