Shloka 20

Adhyaya 40: Kali-yuga Lakshana, Yuga-sandhyamsha, and the Re-emergence of Dharma

Devanagari script

निन्दन्ति वेदविद्यां च द्विजाः कर्माणि वै कलौ कलौ देवो महादेवः शङ्करो नीललोहितः

Transliteration

nindanti vedavidyāṃ ca dvijāḥ karmāṇi vai kalau kalau devo mahādevaḥ śaṅkaro nīlalohitaḥ

Translation

在迦梨时代，连二次生的婆罗门也诋毁吠陀之学与所规定的仪轨。然而就在迦梨之中，神本身即是摩诃提婆——商羯罗、尼罗罗希多（蓝与红之主）；唯有他为主宰Pati，是诸被缚之众生paśu在法衰败时的坚固归依。

Word by Word

• निन्दन्ति: they criticize/condemn

• वेदविद्याम्: Vedic knowledge/sacred learning

• च: and

• द्विजाः: the twice-born (Brahmins and other initiated varṇas)

• कर्माणि: ritual actions/rites

• वै: indeed

• कलौ: in Kali (Kali-yuga)

• कलौ: in Kali (emphatic repetition)

• देवः: the God

• महादेवः: Mahādeva (the Great God, Shiva)

• शङ्करः: Śaṅkara (beneficent Shiva)

• नीललोहितः: Nīlalohita (the blue-and-red/blue-throated and ruddy-hued form of Shiva)

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Shiva
• Mahadeva
• Shankara
• Nilalohita
• Dvijas

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It frames Kali-yuga as a time when Vedic learning and rites are neglected, so devotion to Mahadeva—commonly centered on Linga-puja—becomes the direct and reliable means to approach the Pati beyond failing social religiosity.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

Shiva is presented as Mahadeva and Shankara, the ever-present Lord in Kali who remains the supreme Pati: unchanged by the yuga’s decline, capable of granting grace that loosens pāśa (bondage) upon the paśu (soul).

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

The verse implicitly redirects practice from mere external karma to Shiva-centered upāsanā—especially Linga worship and Pashupata-oriented surrender to Mahadeva as the principal discipline in Kali-yuga.