Shloka 11

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

विवाहा न कलौ धर्म्या न शिष्यगुरुसंस्थितिः न दाम्पत्यक्रमो नैव वह्निदेवात्मकः क्रमः

Transliteration

vivāhā na kalau dharmyā na śiṣyagurusaṃsthitiḥ na dāmpatyakramo naiva vahnidevātmakaḥ kramaḥ

Translation

カリの世には、婚姻はもはやダルマに基づかず、弟子と師の正しい秩序も保たれない。夫婦の聖なる修行は崩れ、神々の生きた臨在と仰がれた火供の作法も真の形では行われなくなる。

Word by Word

• विवाहाः: marriages
• विवाहाः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — marriages (subject)

• न: not
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• कलौ: in Kali age
• कलौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन — in Kali

• धर्म्याः: righteous; lawful
• धर्म्याः: Visheshana (Adjectival to विवाहाः/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धर्म्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन — righteous/according to dharma (agreeing with विवाहाः)

• न: nor
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• शिष्यगुरुसंस्थितिः: proper disciple–teacher relationship/establishment
• शिष्यगुरुसंस्थितिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिष्य + गुरु + संस्थिति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष (सम्बन्ध) ‘शिष्यस्य गुरोः (वा) संस्थितिः’ = proper disciple-teacher establishment

• न: nor
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• दाम्पत्यक्रमः: order/propriety of married life
• दाम्पत्यक्रमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दाम्पत्य + क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘दाम्पत्यस्य क्रमः’

• न: nor
• न: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• एव: indeed; even
• एव: Emphasis (अवधारण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (निश्चय/अवधारणार्थक particle)

• वह्निदेवात्मकः: consisting of the fire-deity (Agni)
• वह्निदेवात्मकः: Visheshana (Adjectival to क्रमः/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वह्नि + देव + आत्मक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुष ‘वह्निदेवः आत्मा यस्य’/‘वह्निदेवात्मकः’ = consisting of fire-deity

• क्रमः: rite; procedure
• क्रमः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन — rite/order (subject)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Further Kali-yuga symptoms: degradation of saṃskāras, education lineage, and household rites

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: grave and admonitory

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: When saṃskāras and the guru–śiṣya discipline erode, household life and sacred fire rites lose their sanctifying power and dharma’s continuity breaks.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Choose teachers carefully, honor vows and commitments, and sustain daily worship/recitation as a ‘portable’ yajña when formal rites are not feasible.

Vishishtadvaita: Highlights the real efficacy of disciplined practice and lineage transmission within God’s order; their breakdown necessitates intensified reliance on devotion and prapatti as accessible means.

Vaishnava Theology

Bhakti Type: Dasya

Characters & Entities

• Agni (Fire deity)
• Guru
• Śiṣya

FAQs

What is the significance of marriage (vivāha) in the Vishnu Purana’s description of Kali-yuga?

This verse treats vivāha as a dharmic institution (saṃskāra); its corruption is presented as a key marker of Kali-yuga, signaling social and spiritual disorder.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the decline of the guru–disciple tradition in this chapter?

Parāśara frames Kali-yuga as an age where established structures that transmit sacred knowledge—especially the guru–śiṣya relationship—lose stability, leading to weakened discipline and distorted teaching.

What is the theological importance of Agni (fire-rite) in this context?

Agni represents the divine conduit of Vedic order; saying the ‘fire-as-divine’ procedure will not be followed highlights a retreat from sacred alignment—yet the Purana’s broader stance implies that Vishnu remains the supreme governor even as dharma wanes by yuga-law.