Shloka 51
कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
स्वल्पाम्बुवृष्टिः पर्जन्यः सस्यं स्वल्पफलं तथा फलं तथाल्पसारं च विप्र प्राप्ते कलौ युगे
svalpāmbuvṛṣṭiḥ parjanyaḥ sasyaṃ svalpaphalaṃ tathā phalaṃ tathālpasāraṃ ca vipra prāpte kalau yuge
Wahai brahmana, apabila zaman Kali tiba, hujan turun sedikit; hasil tanaman menjadi kecil; dan buah yang ada pun kurang sari—miskin zat dan daya menyara.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Material symptoms of Kali-yuga affecting nature, agriculture, and human sustenance.
Teaching: Cosmological
Quality: revealing
Concept: Kali’s arrival is reflected in the weakening of life-supporting rhythms—rain, crop yield, and nutritive potency—producing widespread scarcity.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Practice restraint and stewardship (non-waste, charity, sustainable living) while strengthening sāttvika habits and prayerful dependence on the Lord.
Vishishtadvaita: The world (prakṛti) is a real mode of the Lord; caring for it and responding with dharmic conduct is service within His embodied cosmos.
Lakshmi Presence: Bhumi
FAQs
This verse uses scarcity—weak rains, low-yield crops, and nutritionally poor fruits—as a concrete marker of Kali Yuga, showing how dharmic decline is mirrored by disorder in nature and reduced sustenance for living beings.
Parāśara lists observable symptoms rather than abstract theory: diminished rainfall and weakened produce indicate a world losing balance, helping Maitreya understand Kali as a lived condition affecting survival and moral-spiritual stability.
Even as Kali manifests as scarcity and decline, the Vishnu Purana’s framework implies Vishnu’s continuing sovereignty over cosmic cycles—Kali is a phase within divine order, not a final defeat of dharma.