Shloka 33
ब्राह्मणा: सर्वभक्षाश्न॒ भविष्यन्ति कलौ युगे । अजपा ब्राह्मणास्तात शूद्रा जपपरायणा:
brāhmaṇāḥ sarvabhakṣāśn̥a bhaviṣyanti kalau yuge | ajapā brāhmaṇās tāta śūdrā japaparāyaṇāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «En la era de Kali, los brahmanes se volverán comedores indiscriminados, consumiendo cuanto haya. Oh querido, los brahmanes abandonarán la disciplina del japa, mientras que los śūdras se entregarán por entero al mantra-japa.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Kali Yuga as a period of inversion and decline in dharmic standards: those expected to uphold restraint, purity, and Vedic discipline (brahmins) abandon key practices like japa and become lax, while those not traditionally associated with Vedic recitation (śūdras) take up japa. The ethical thrust is a warning about erosion of duty and the confusion of social-religious norms.
Vaiśampāyana is describing future characteristics of the Kali age as part of a broader discourse on yuga-dharma (the changing nature of righteousness across ages). This line highlights behavioral and religious-role reversals as signs of the age’s degeneration.