Shloka 27

कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना

Devanagari script

अस्नानभोजिनो नाग्निदेवतातिथिपूजनम् करिष्यन्ति कलौ प्राप्ते न च पित्र्योदकक्रियाम्

Transliteration

asnānabhojino nāgnidevatātithipūjanam kariṣyanti kalau prāpte na ca pitryodakakriyām

Translation

कलौ प्राप्ते जनाः अस्नानभोजिनः स्युः; न अग्निदेवतातिथिपूजनं करिष्यन्ति, न च पित्र्योदकक्रियाम्।

Word by Word

asnānabhojinaḥ(people) who eat without bathing

nanot

agni-devatā-atithi-pūjanamworship of fire, deities, and guests

kariṣyantiwill do

kalauin the Kali age

prāptewhen (it) has come/arrived

nanot

caand

pitṛ-udaka-kriyāmthe water-rite for the ancestors (libations)

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Characters & Entities

Agni

Devatāḥ (gods)

Atithi (guest)

Pitṛs (ancestors)

FAQs

What is the significance of honoring Agni, the gods, and guests in the Vishnu Purana’s description of Kali-yuga?

This verse treats their worship as a basic marker of dharma; its abandonment signals the collapse of daily sacred order in Kali-yuga.

How does Sage Parāśara explain Kali-yuga through everyday conduct rather than abstract theory?

He points to practical omissions—bathing before meals, pūjā to Agni and the devas, and hospitality—showing Kali’s decline as lived behavior.

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

The yuga-cycle unfolds within Vishnu’s supreme governance; the verse highlights how beings fall from dharma in Kali, thereby intensifying the need for refuge in the Supreme Reality (Vishnu) and dharmic restoration.