Shloka 25
Parīkṣit Confronts Kali: Dharma (Bull) and Bhūmi (Cow) at the Dawn of Kali-yuga
इदानीं धर्म पादस्ते सत्यं निर्वर्तयेद्यत: । तं जिघृक्षत्यधर्मोऽयमनृतेनैधित: कलि: ॥ २५ ॥
idānīṁ dharma pādas te satyaṁ nirvartayed yataḥ taṁ jighṛkṣaty adharmo ’yam anṛtenaidhitaḥ kaliḥ
Hỡi Dharma, nay ngươi chỉ còn đứng trên một chân—chân thật—và lê bước khó nhọc; nhưng Kali, phi pháp lớn lên nhờ dối trá, cũng đang tìm cách phá nốt chân ấy.
The principles of religion do not stand on some dogmas or man-made formulas, but they stand on four primary regulative observances, namely austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness. The mass of people must be taught to practice these principles from childhood. Austerity means to accept voluntarily things which may not be very comfortable for the body but are conducive for spiritual realization, for example, fasting. Fasting twice or four times a month is a sort of austerity which may be voluntarily accepted for spiritual realization only, and not for any other purposes, political or otherwise. Fastings which are meant not for self-realization but for some other purposes are condemned in the Bhagavad-gītā (17.5-6) . Similarly, cleanliness is necessary both for the mind and for the body. Simply bodily cleanliness may help to some extent, but cleanliness of the mind is necessary, and it is effected by glorifying the Supreme Lord. No one can cleanse the accumulated mental dust without glorifying the Supreme Lord. A godless civilization cannot cleanse the mind because it has no idea of God, and for this simple reason people under such a civilization cannot have good qualifications, however they may be materially equipped. We have to see things by their resultant action. The resultant action of human civilization in the Age of Kali is dissatisfaction, so everyone is anxious to get peace of mind. This peace of mind was complete in the Satya age because of the existence of the above-mentioned attributes of the human beings. Gradually these attributes have diminished in the Tretā-yuga to three fourths, in the Dvāpara to half, and in this Age of Kali to one fourth, which is also gradually diminishing on account of prevailing untruthfulness. By pride, either artificial or real, the resultant action of austerity is spoiled; by too much affection for female association, cleanliness is spoiled; by too much addiction to intoxication, mercy is spoiled; and by too much lying propaganda, truthfulness is spoiled. The revival of bhāgavata-dharma can save human civilization from falling prey to evils of all description.
FAQs
This verse says that in Kali-yuga irreligion grows through falsehood and specifically attacks satya (truthfulness), the remaining support of Dharma.
Because in this stage of the age, Dharma is sustained mainly by truthfulness; by spreading untruth, Kali can weaken and capture the very foundation that still upholds righteousness.
Protect truthfulness in speech, conduct, and commitments; reducing dishonesty and hypocrisy is presented here as a direct way to resist Kali’s influence and preserve dharma.