Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 21
Yuga-Dharma Framework, Kali-Yuga Diagnosis, and the Hari-Nāma Remedy
Transition to Vedānta Inquiry
कलिस्थितिं प्रवक्ष्यामि तच्छृणुष्व समाहितः । धर्मः कलियुगे प्राप्ते पादेनैकेन वर्तते ॥ २१ ॥
kalisthitiṃ pravakṣyāmi tacchṛṇuṣva samāhitaḥ | dharmaḥ kaliyuge prāpte pādenaikena vartate || 21 ||
میں کَلی یُگ کی حالت بیان کرتا ہوں—تم یکسو دل سے سنو۔ کَلی کے آنے پر دھرم صرف ایک پاؤں (چوتھائی قوت) پر قائم رہتا ہے۔
Narada
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It frames Kali-yuga as an age where righteousness is greatly diminished, urging the listener to be mentally disciplined and discerning because spiritual and ethical clarity becomes harder when Dharma survives only in a quarter measure.
By announcing the weakened state of Dharma in Kali-yuga, the verse prepares the ground for Kali-yuga remedies emphasized in Purāṇic teaching—especially accessible, heart-centered devotion and remembrance of the Divine as dependable supports when broader social Dharma declines.
The verse uses the technical yuga framework (a time-cycle doctrine aligned with Purāṇic chronology), a practical lens for applying dharma appropriately to changing times—an essential interpretive principle for ritual and conduct even when specific Vedāṅga procedures are not directly discussed.