Shloka 1
Parīkṣit Confronts Kali: Dharma (Bull) and Bhūmi (Cow) at the Dawn of Kali-yuga
सूत उवाच तत्र गोमिथुनं राजा हन्यमानमनाथवत् । दण्डहस्तं च वृषलं ददृशे नृपलाञ्छनम् ॥ १ ॥
sūta uvāca tatra go-mithunaṁ rājā hanyamānam anāthavat daṇḍa-hastaṁ ca vṛṣalaṁ dadṛśe nṛpa-lāñchanam
Sūta berkata: Di tempat itu raja melihat seorang śūdra rendah, berpakaian seperti raja dan memegang belantan, sedang memukul seekor lembu betina dan seekor lembu jantan seolah-olah tiada tuan.
The principal sign of the Age of Kali is that lower-caste śūdras, i.e., men without brahminical culture and spiritual initiation, will be dressed like administrators or kings, and the principal business of such non- kṣatriya rulers will be to kill the innocent animals, especially the cows and the bulls, who shall be unprotected by their masters, the bona fide vaiśyas, the mercantile community. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.44) it is said that the vaiśyas are meant to deal in agriculture, cow protection and trade. In the Age of Kali, the degraded vaiśyas, the mercantile men, are engaged in supplying cows to slaughterhouses. The kṣatriyas are meant to protect the citizens of the state, whereas the vaiśyas are meant to protect the cows and bulls and utilize them to produce grains and milk. The cow is meant to deliver milk, and the bull is meant to produce grains. But in the Age of Kali, the śūdra class of men are in the posts of administrators, and the cows and bulls, or the mothers and the fathers, unprotected by the vaiśyas, are subjected to the slaughterhouses organized by the śūdra administrators.
FAQs
This verse shows Kali’s influence beginning through violence against the cow and bull—symbols of nourishment and dharma—carried out by a degraded person deceptively wearing royal insignia.
Parīkṣit is the ideal protector-king; seeing the helpless cow and bull attacked signaled the rise of adharma, compelling him to confront and restrain the cause—Kali in disguise.
Do not tolerate cruelty and injustice, especially when disguised as authority; protect the vulnerable and uphold dharma even when wrongdoing appears socially sanctioned.