Shloka 16
Kali-yuga’s Degradation, the Advent of Kalki, and the Reset of the Yuga Cycle
क्षीयमाणेषु देहेषु देहिनां कलिदोषत: । वर्णाश्रमवतां धर्मे नष्टे वेदपथे नृणाम् ॥ १२ ॥ पाषण्डप्रचुरे धर्मे दस्युप्रायेषु राजसु । चौर्यानृतवृथाहिंसानानावृत्तिषु वै नृषु ॥ १३ ॥ शूद्रप्रायेषु वर्णेषुच्छागप्रायासु धेनुषु । गृहप्रायेष्वाश्रमेषु यौनप्रायेषु बन्धुषु ॥ १४ ॥ अणुप्रायास्वोषधीषु शमीप्रायेषु स्थास्नुषु । विद्युत्प्रायेषु मेघेषु शून्यप्रायेषु सद्मसु ॥ १५ ॥ इत्थं कलौ गतप्राये जनेषु खरधर्मिषु । धर्मत्राणाय सत्त्वेन भगवानवतरिष्यति ॥ १६ ॥
kṣīyamāṇeṣu deheṣu dehināṁ kali-doṣataḥ varṇāśramavatāṁ dharme naṣṭe veda-pathe nṛṇām
カリの時代の終わりには、カリの दोष（過失）によって生きとし生けるものの身体は著しく小さくなり、ヴァルナ・アーシュラマのダルマは崩れ、ヴェーダの道は人間社会から忘れ去られる。宗教と称するものは邪説と無神論に満ち、王たちは多くが盗賊のようになり、人々の営みは盗み・虚言・無益な暴力となり、あらゆる階層はシュードラ同然に堕する。牛は山羊のようになり、アーシュラマは俗家と変わらず、親族の情は婚姻の結びつきにとどまる。薬草は小さく、樹木はシャミーのように矮小となり、雲は稲妻に満ち、住まいは敬虔さを失い、人々は驢馬のごとくなる。その時、至上の主バガヴァーンが清浄なるサットヴァの力をもって降臨し、永遠のダルマを救護される。
Significantly, these verses point out that most so-called religions in this age will be atheistic ( pāsaṇḍa-pracure dharme ). In confirmation of the Bhāgavatam’s prediction, the United States Supreme Court has recently ruled that to be considered a religion a system of belief need not recognize a supreme being. Also, many atheistic, voidistic belief systems, often imported from the Orient, have attracted the attention of modern atheistic scientists, who expound on the similarities between Eastern and Western voidism in fashionable, esoteric books.
FAQs
Bhagavatam 12.2.16 states that when Kali-yuga is nearly finished and people have become degraded, the Supreme Lord will descend in pure goodness to protect and restore dharma.
He is emphasizing extreme moral and spiritual dullness—people burdened by material life and ignorance—setting the context for why divine intervention is needed to reestablish dharma.
Recognize Kali-yuga’s degrading pressures, cultivate sattva through sādhana (hearing, chanting, clean living), and take shelter of the Lord’s guidance as the true protection of dharma.