Shloka 33

Adhyaya 40: Kali-yuga Lakshana, Yuga-sandhyamsha, and the Re-emergence of Dharma

Devanagari script

प्रनष्टचेष्टनाः पुंसो मुक्तकेशाश् च शूलिनः जनाः षोडशवर्षाश् च प्रजायन्ते युगक्षये

Transliteration

pranaṣṭaceṣṭanāḥ puṃso muktakeśāś ca śūlinaḥ janāḥ ṣoḍaśavarṣāś ca prajāyante yugakṣaye

Translation

À la dissolution du yuga, les hommes seront privés de juste conduite et d’élan orienté; les gens paraîtront les cheveux défaits, armes en main, et des enfants naîtront comme si leur durée n’était que de seize ans—signe funeste de l’effondrement de l’âge. En de tels temps, le paśu (l’âme), poussé par une confusion semblable au pāśa, oublie la discipline de bon augure qui mène à Pati, le Seigneur Śiva.

Word by Word

• प्रनष्ट-चेष्टनाः: whose efforts/wholesome conduct is ruined

• पुंसः: of men/among men

• मुक्त-केशाः: with loosened/dishevelled hair

• च: and

• शूलिनः: bearing a spear/trident-like weapon (armed)

• जनाः: people

• षोडश-वर्षाः: sixteen-year(-like), of sixteen years

• च: and

• प्रजायन्ते: are born/come into being

• युग-क्षये: at the end of the yuga

Speaker

Suta Goswami (narrating to the sages of Naimisharanya)

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames yuga-kṣaya as a collapse of disciplined conduct; Linga-worship functions as a stabilizing sādhana that reorients the paśu (soul) toward Pati (Śiva) through purity, restraint, and regular pūjā.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By implication, Śiva-tattva stands as the unchanging Pati amid cyclical decay; when worldly order disintegrates, refuge in Śiva as the steady ground of dharma and liberation becomes paramount.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse highlights the need for Pāśupata-style discipline—restraint, śauca (purity), japa, and steadfast Linga-pūjā—as antidotes to the distracted, violent, and unregulated tendencies of yuga-kṣaya.