Shloka 19
Parīkṣit Confronts Kali; Dharma and Bhūmi Lament Kṛṣṇa’s Departure
धर्म उवाच कच्चिद्भद्रेऽनामयमात्मनस्ते विच्छायासि म्लायतेषन्मुखेन । आलक्षये भवतीमन्तराधिं दूरे बन्धुं शोचसि कञ्चनाम्ब ॥ १९ ॥
dharma uvāca kaccid bhadre ’nāmayam ātmanas te vicchāyāsi mlāyateṣan mukhena ālakṣaye bhavatīm antarādhiṁ dūre bandhuṁ śocasi kañcanāmba
Tinanong ni Dharma (sa anyong toro): “Mahal na Ina, ikaw ba’y ligtas at malusog? Bakit natatakpan ng anino ng dalamhati ang iyong mukha at tila nalalanta? Sa iyong anyo’y wari’y nangingitim ka. May sakit ka ba sa loob, o nagdadalamhati ka sa pag-alaala sa minamahal na kamag-anak na nasa malayo?”
The people of the world in this Age of Kali are always full of anxieties. Everyone is diseased with some kind of ailment. From the very faces of the people of this age, one can find out the index of the mind. Everyone feels the absence of his relative who is away from home. The particular symptom of the Age of Kali is that no family is now blessed to live together. To earn a livelihood, the father lives at a place far away from the son, or the wife lives far away from the husband and so on. There are sufferings from internal diseases, separation from those near and dear, and anxieties for maintaining the status quo. These are but some important factors which make the people of this age always unhappy.
FAQs
This verse shows Dharma noticing that Earth has lost her radiance and is afflicted within, indicating the burden and sorrow Earth bears when irreligion spreads in Kali Yuga.
In the narrative, Dharma (as a bull) sees Earth (as a cow) weakened and sorrowful; he questions her wellbeing because the world’s decline in righteousness has caused her distress.
When goodness declines, sensitive hearts feel it first; the verse encourages honest inquiry into inner distress and restoring dharma through truthful living, compassion, and devotion.