Shloka 57
कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
निःसत्त्वानाम् अशौचानां निर्ह्रीकाणां तथा नृणाम् यद् यद् दुःखाय तत् सर्वं कलिकाले भविष्यति
niḥsattvānām aśaucānāṃ nirhrīkāṇāṃ tathā nṛṇām yad yad duḥkhāya tat sarvaṃ kalikāle bhaviṣyati
For men who have lost all inner worth, who are impure and have cast off shame, everything that leads to suffering—whatever can become a cause of misery—will come to pass in the age of Kali.
Sage Parāśara (addressing Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Kali-yuga as a field where suffering multiplies for the shameless and impure
Teaching: Ethical
Quality: authoritative
Concept: When inner worth (sattva) and shame (hrī) are lost, Kali-yuga becomes a generator of suffering, making spiritual refuge essential.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Guard inner purity (śauca) and moral sensitivity (hrī) through daily nāma-japa, sāttvika diet, and association with devotees; treat suffering as a prompt to return to Bhagavān.
Vishishtadvaita: Even amid pervasive duḥkha, the jīva can rely on Bhagavān’s saving accessibility (saulabhya) through bhakti/śaraṇāgati rather than mere self-effort.
Bhakti Type: Shanta
FAQs
This verse frames Kali Yuga as an era where inner virtue (sattva), purity (śauca), and modest restraint (hrī) collapse, and therefore the conditions that generate widespread misery naturally proliferate.
Parāśara traces decline to character: when people become niḥsattva (bereft of goodness), aśauca (impure), and nirhrīka (shameless), their actions and institutions tend toward outcomes that multiply duḥkha (suffering).
Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the teaching presumes a dharmic cosmos upheld by the Supreme Reality; Kali Yuga suffering is presented as the karmic and ethical consequence of turning away from that sustaining order ultimately grounded in Vishnu.