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

ユガの終末には、人々は正しい行いと志ある営みを失う。髪を乱し、手に武器を携えて現れ、子らはまるで寿命が十六年ほどしかないかのように生まれる—時代崩壊の不吉な徴である。そのような時、パーシュ（魂）はパーシャのごとき迷乱に駆られ、パティ—主シヴァ—へ至る吉祥の規律を忘れてしまう。

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.