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
O brahmana, pagdating ng panahon ng Kali, kakaunti ang ulan; kaunti ang aanihin; at maging ang mga bungang lilitaw ay kapos sa katas—mahina sa sustansiya at lakas magtaguyod.
Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)
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.