Shloka 14

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

सर्वम् एव कलौ शास्त्रं यस्य यद् वचनं द्विज देवताश् च कलौ सर्वाः सर्वः सर्वस्य चाश्रमः

Transliteration

sarvam eva kalau śāstraṃ yasya yad vacanaṃ dvija devatāś ca kalau sarvāḥ sarvaḥ sarvasya cāśramaḥ

Translation

おお、二度生まれし者よ。カリの世では、誰かの言葉がそのまま聖典（シャーストラ）とみなされ、またカリにおいては諸神が皆同一であるかのように扱われる。人は皆、あらゆるものになろうとし、各々が四住期と生の秩序すべてを自らのものと称する。

Word by Word

सर्वम्all, everything

एवindeed, only

कलौin the Kali (age)

शास्त्रम्scripture, authority

यस्यof whom/whose

यत्whatever (that which)

वचनम्word, statement

द्विजO twice-born (brahmin)

देवताःdeities

चand

कलौin Kali (age)

सर्वाःall (of them)

सर्वःall / every

सर्वस्यof all, of everyone

चand

आश्रमःstage of life/āśrama

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Kali-yuga confusion: relativizing śāstra, leveling devas, and collapse of varṇāśrama boundaries

Teaching: Ethical

Quality: revealing

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Kali-yuga fosters epistemic and social disorder: personal opinion masquerades as śāstra, distinctions among devas blur, and varṇāśrama roles are self-assigned without discipline.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Anchor practice in tested śāstra and living sampradāya guidance; cultivate humility and role-appropriate duties rather than self-authorized spirituality.

Vishishtadvaita: Affirms the necessity of śāstra-pramāṇa and ordered dharma as the Lord’s governance of the real world, not mere convention.

Characters & Entities

Devatāḥ (the gods)

Dvija (Brāhmaṇa class)

FAQs

What is the significance of ‘speech becoming scripture’ in Kali-yuga in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse marks Kali-yuga as an age where personal assertion replaces śāstric authority, leading to instability in dharma and loss of reliable spiritual standards.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the collapse of social and spiritual order in Kali-yuga?

Parāśara describes a confusion of boundaries—people treat any statement as authoritative and assume every āśrama indiscriminately—showing the erosion of disciplined life and inherited duties.

What is the theological importance of Lord Vishnu in this context?

By portraying the failure of human-made authority in Kali, the text implicitly points back to Vishnu as the stable supreme ground of dharma—beyond shifting opinions and social disorder.