Shloka 9

Kali's Complaint to Brahma (Part 2) — Kali’s Complaint to Brahma and the Arrival of Śrī (Jayaśrī) in Bali’s Reign

Devanagari script

इत्येवमुक्तो देवेन ब्रह्मणा कलिरव्ययः दीनान् दृष्ट्वा स शक्रादीन् विभीतकवनं गतः

Transliteration

ityevamukto devena brahmaṇā kaliravyayaḥ dīnān dṛṣṭvā sa śakrādīn vibhītakavanaṃ gataḥ

Translation

ദേവനായ ബ്രഹ്മാവ് ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ അവ്യയനായ കലി—ശക്രാദി ദേവന്മാരെ ദീനാവസ്ഥയിൽ കണ്ടിട്ട്—വിഭീതകവനത്തിലേക്ക് പോയി।

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic speaker) describing events to Nārada (vocative implied in the surrounding passage)

Primary Deities

• Brahmā
• Indra (Śakra)
• Kali (personified)

Key Themes

• Personification of Yugas
• Divine governance of cosmic ages
• Gods’ vulnerability and restoration
• Moral order (Dharma) as cosmically regulated

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "karuna", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Who is ‘Kali’ here—an asura, a deity, or an age?

Kali is the personified Kali-yuga: not merely a time-period but a conscious agent of decline. Purāṇas often depict yugas as embodied beings who can be instructed, restrained, or released by higher cosmic authorities such as Brahmā.

Why does Kali go to ‘Vibhītaka forest’—is it a tirtha?

The verse presents it as a named forest (vana) associated with the vibhītaka tree. In Purāṇic geography, such named woodlands function as identifiable locales within sacred landscapes; whether it is a formal tirtha depends on later verses, but here it primarily marks Kali’s withdrawal to a specific region.

What is implied by the gods being ‘dīna’ (dejected)?

It signals a cosmic imbalance: when adharma rises, even the devas lose their stability and splendor. The narrative sets up Brahmā’s intervention as the mechanism by which order is re-established and the proper yuga-dharma resumes.