कलिस्वरूप-वर्णनम् एवं कालमान-प्रस्तावना
यदा यदा न यज्ञानाम् ईश्वरः पुरुषोत्तमः इज्यते पुरुषैर् यज्ञैस् तदा ज्ञेयं कलेर् बलम्
yadā yadā na yajñānām īśvaraḥ puruṣottamaḥ ijyate puruṣair yajñais tadā jñeyaṃ kaler balam
เมื่อใดก็ตามที่ปุรุโษตตมะ ผู้เป็นเจ้าแห่งยัญทั้งปวง มิได้รับการบูชาจากผู้คนด้วยพิธียัญ เมื่อนั้นพึงรู้ว่าเป็นกำลังอำนาจของกาลียุคที่กำลังเพิ่มขึ้น
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
In this verse, Kali’s power is recognized by a concrete symptom: people cease to worship the Supreme Lord of yajña through rightful sacrificial observances, signaling dharma’s decline.
Parāśara points to practice-based markers—when devotion and Vedic duty (here, yajña offered to the Lord) diminish in society, it indicates the yuga’s downward turn, especially the dominance of Kali.
Vishnu is presented as Puruṣottama and the Lord of all sacrifices, implying that yajña is ultimately meant for Him; when He is not honored, cosmic and moral order weakens—an explicitly Vaishnava framing of yuga-dharma.