Shloka 27

कलियुग-प्रवृत्तिः, सप्तर्षि-गणना, धरणीगीताः, च वंश-समाप्तिः

Kali-yuga onset, Saptarṣi reckoning, Dharaṇī-gītā, and closure of the dynastic account

Devanagari script

यदैव भगवद्विष्णोर् अंशो यातो दिवं द्विज वसुदेवकुलोद्भूतस् तदैवात्रागतः कलिः

Transliteration

yadaiva bhagavadviṣṇor aṃśo yāto divaṃ dvija vasudevakulodbhūtas tadaivātrāgataḥ kaliḥ

Translation

ഓ ദ്വിജാ! വസുദേവകുലത്തിൽ ഉദ്ഭവിച്ച ഭഗവാൻ വിഷ്ണുവിന്റെ പ്രകടിത അംശം ദിവ്യലോകത്തേക്ക് പോയ അതേ നിമിഷം, അതേ സമയം തന്നെ ഇവിടെ ലോകത്തിലേക്ക് കലി എത്തി.

Word by Word

यदाwhen

एवindeed/just

भगवद्विष्णोःof Lord Viṣṇu

अंशःa portion/part

यातःwent

दिवम्to heaven

द्विजO twice-born

वसुदेवकुलोद्भूतःborn in the Vasudeva lineage

तदाthen

एवindeed

अत्रhere

आगतःcame/arrived

कलिःKali

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (narrating to Maitreya; addressing him as dvija)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Causal link between Bhagavān’s departure and Kali’s manifestation in the world

Teaching: Historical

Quality: revealing

Cosmological Context

Yuga: Kali

Manvantara: Vaivasvata

Avatara Context

Avatara: Krishna

Purpose: He descended in the Vāsudeva lineage to lighten the earth’s burden and re-establish dharma, and upon His departure Kali gained entry into the world.

Leela: Loka-rakshana

Dharma Restored: Protection of dharma through the Lord’s presence and the completion of His earthly mission

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: The Lord’s manifest presence restrains adharma; when He withdraws His visible līlā, Kali’s influence becomes operative, making devotion the essential refuge.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: In times of decline, intensify nāma-smaraṇa, satsanga, and dharma-practice rather than relying on external stability.

Vishishtadvaita: Bhagavān is both transcendent and historically present; His līlā within the world-body (jagat as His śarīra) directly conditions the moral-spiritual climate.

Dynasty & Genealogy

Vamsha: Chandra

Key Kings: Vasudeva

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Krishna

Vyuha Form: Vasudeva

Characters & Entities

Bhagavān Viṣṇu

Kṛṣṇa (as Viṣṇu-aṃśa)

Vasudeva

Kali (Kali-yuga personified)

FAQs

What is the significance of Kali arriving when Kṛṣṇa departs in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that Kali’s influence begins precisely when the visible, protecting presence of Viṣṇu’s incarnation withdraws, marking a yuga transition and the decline of dharma in the world-order.

How does Sage Parāśara explain the timing of the yuga change?

Parāśara presents the shift as immediate and consequential: the departure of Viṣṇu’s aṃśa (Kṛṣṇa) and the arrival of Kali occur simultaneously, underscoring a cosmological law of cycles rather than a gradual accident.

What is the theological importance of calling Kṛṣṇa ‘Bhagavān Viṣṇu’s aṃśa’ here?

It affirms Viṣṇu as the Supreme Reality whose incarnate manifestation sustains dharma; Kṛṣṇa’s departure signals the end of that manifest guardianship, while Viṣṇu’s transcendence remains unchanged.