Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 7
Kali-yuga Dynasties and the Degradation of Kingship
नन्दिवर्धन आजेयो महानन्दि: सुतस्तत: । शिशुनागा दशैवैते सष्ट्युत्तरशतत्रयम् ॥ ६ ॥ समा भोक्ष्यन्ति पृथिवीं कुरुश्रेष्ठ कलौ नृपा: । महानन्दिसुतो राजन् शूद्रागर्भोद्भवो बली ॥ ७ ॥ महापद्मपति: कश्चिन्नन्द: क्षत्रविनाशकृत् । ततो नृपा भविष्यन्ति शूद्रप्रायास्त्वधार्मिका: ॥ ८ ॥
nandivardhana ājeyo mahānandiḥ sutas tataḥ śiśunāgā daśaivaite saṣṭy-uttara-śata-trayam
阿阇耶将生第二位难提伐陀那，其子为摩诃难提。噢，俱卢中最卓越者，在迦利时代，尸须那伽王朝这十位君王将合计统治大地三百六十年。亲爱的帕利克希特，摩诃难提将从一位首陀罗女子的胎中得一位极其强大的儿子，名为难陀；他将拥有无量财富与百万军队，摧毁刹帝利；自此以后，几乎所有君王都将成为无德的首陀罗之流。
Here is a description of how authentic political authority degenerated and disintegrated throughout the world. There is a Supreme Godhead, and there are saintly, powerful men who have taken the role of government leaders and represented that Godhead on earth. With the advent of the Age of Kali, however, this transcendental system of government collapsed, and unauthorized, uncivilized men gradually took the reins of power.
FAQs
This verse says that in Kali-yuga many rulers will be irreligious, and that after Nanda destroys the kṣatriya rulers, kings will be mostly śūdras—indicating a decline in dharmic governance.
Śukadeva narrates the future course of Kali-yuga to give Parīkṣit sober detachment from worldly politics and to emphasize taking shelter of bhakti as the true refuge in an age of decline.
Do not base your spiritual stability on the changing quality of leaders or institutions; cultivate steady devotion, personal integrity, and dharmic conduct regardless of external decline.