Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 9
Ṛṣabhadeva’s Indifference to Siddhis, Vigilance Toward the Mind, and the Kali-yuga Rise of Anti-Vedic धर्म
यस्य किलानुचरितमुपाकर्ण्य कोङ्कवेङ्ककुटकानां राजार्हन्नामोपशिक्ष्य कलावधर्म उत्कृष्यमाणे भवितव्येन विमोहित: स्वधर्मपथमकुतोभयमपहाय कुपथपाखण्डमसमञ्जसं निजमनीषया मन्द: सम्प्रवर्तयिष्यते ॥ ९ ॥
yasya kilānucaritam upākarṇya koṅka-veṅka-kuṭakānāṁ rājārhan-nāmopaśikṣya kalāv adharma utkṛṣyamāṇe bhavitavyena vimohitaḥ sva-dharma-patham akuto-bhayam apahāya kupatha-pākhaṇḍam asamañjasaṁ nija-manīṣayā mandaḥ sampravartayiṣyate.
Si Śukadeva Gosvami ay patuloy na nagsalita kay Maharaja Pariksit: Mahal kong Hari, ang Hari ng Konka, Venka at Kutaka na ang pangalan ay Arhat, ay narinig ang mga aktibidad ni Rishabhadeva at, ginagaya ang mga prinsipyo ni Rishabhadeva, ay nagpakilala ng isang bagong sistema ng relihiyon. Sinasamantala ang Kali-yuga, ang panahon ng makasalanang aktibidad, si Haring Arhat, na nalilito, ay tinalikuran ang mga prinsipyo ng Vedic, na walang panganib, at gumawa ng isang bagong sistema ng relihiyon na sumasalungat sa Vedas. Iyon ang simula ng Jain dharma. Maraming iba pang tinatawag na relihiyon ang sumunod sa sistemang ateistiko na ito.
When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa was present on this planet, a person named Pauṇḍraka imitated the four-handed Nārāyaṇa and declared himself the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He desired to compete with Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, during the time of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the King of Koṅka and Veṅka acted like a paramahaṁsa and imitated Lord Ṛṣabhadeva. He introduced a system of religion and took advantage of the fallen condition of the people in this Age of Kali. It is said in Vedic literatures that people in this age will be more inclined to accept anyone as the Supreme Lord and accept any religious system opposed to Vedic principles. The people in this age are described as mandāḥ sumanda-matayaḥ. Generally they have no spiritual culture, and therefore they are very fallen. Due to this, they will accept any religious system. Due to their misfortune. they forget the Vedic principles. Following non-Vedic principles in this age, they think themselves the Supreme Lord and thus spread the cult of atheism all over the world.
FAQs
This verse says that in Kali-yuga, irreligion becomes prominent and people—even leaders—can become deluded, abandoning the safe path of sva-dharma and promoting misguided, hypocritical paths.
Śukadeva describes a future ruler of the regions Koṅka, Veṅka, and Kuṭaka who adopts the title/name ‘Arhat’ and, influenced by Kali-yuga and destiny, propagates a distorted, irreligious path.
Stay grounded in authentic śāstra-guided practice and one’s rightful duties (sva-dharma), and avoid self-invented spirituality that contradicts dharma and leads to hypocrisy or confusion.