Vaisampayana said "Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, once more asked the
great _Muni_ Markandeya about the future course of the government of the
Earth.
"And Yudhishthira said, 'O thou foremost of all speakers, O _Muni_ of
Bhrigu's race, that which we have heard from thee about the destruction
and re-birth of all things at the end of the _Yuga_, is, indeed, full of
wonder! I am filled with curiosity, however, in respect of what may
happen in the _Kali_ age. When morality and virtue will be at an end,
what will remain there! What will be the prowess of men in that age,
what their food, and what their amusements? What will be the period of
life at the end of the _Yuga_? What also is the limit, having attained
which the _Krita_ age will begin anew? Tell me all in detail, O _Muni_,
for all that thou narratest is varied and delightful.'
"Thus addressed, that foremost of _Munis_ began his discourse again,
delighting that tiger of the Vrishni race and the sons of Pandu as well.
And Markandeya said, 'Listen, O monarch, to all that hath been seen and
heard by me, and to all, O king of kings, that hath been known to me by
intuition from the grace of the God of gods! O bull of the Bharata race,
listen to me as I narrate the future history of the world during the
sinful age. O bull of the Bharata race, in the _Krita_ age, everything
was free from deceit and guile and avarice and covetousness; and
morality like a bull was among men, with all the four legs complete. In
the _Treta_ age sin took away one of these legs and morality had three
legs. In the _Dwapara_, sin and morality are mixed half and half; and
accordingly morality is said to have two legs only. In the dark age (_of
Kali_), O thou best of the Bharata race, morality mixed with three parts
of sin liveth by the side of men. Accordingly morality then is said to
wait on men, with only a fourth part of itself remaining. Know, O
Yudhishthira, that the period of life, the energy, intellect and the
physical strength of men decrease in every _Yuga_! O Pandava, the
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas and Sudras, (in the _Kali_ age)
will practise morality and virtue deceitfully and men in general will
deceive their fellows by spreading the net of virtue. And men with false
reputation of learning will, by their acts, cause Truth to be contracted
and concealed. And in consequence of the shortness of their lives they
will not be able to acquire much knowledge. And in consequence of the
littleness of their knowledge, they will have no wisdom. And for this,
covetousness and avarice will overwhelm them all. And wedded to avarice
and wrath and ignorance and lust men will entertain animosities towards
one another, desiring to take one another's lives. And Brahmanas and
Kshatriyas and Vaisyas with their virtue contracted and divested of
asceticism and truth will all be reduced to an equality with the Sudras.
And the lowest orders of men will rise to the position of the
intermediate ones, and those in intermediate stations will, without
doubt, descend to the level of the lowest ones. Even such, O
Yudhishthira, will become the state of the world at the end of the
_Yuga_. Of robes those will be regarded the best that are made of flax,
and of grain the _Paspalum frumentacea_[5] will be regarded the best.
Towards this period men will regard their wives as their (only) friends.
And men will live on fish and milk, goats and sheep, for cows will be
extinct. And towards that period, even they that are always observant of
vows, will become covetous. And opposed to one another, men will, at
such a time, seek one another's lives; and divested of _Yuga_, people
will become atheists and thieves. And they will even dig the banks of
streams with their spades and sow grains thereon. And even those places
will prove barren for them at such a time. And those men who are devoted
to ceremonial rites in honour of the deceased and of the gods, will be
avaricious and will also appropriate and enjoy what belongs to others.
The father will enjoy what belongs to the son; and the son, what belongs
to the father. And those things will also be enjoyed by men in such
times, the enjoyment of which hath been forbidden in the scriptures. And
the Brahmanas, speaking disrespectfully of the Vedas, will not practise
vows, and their understanding clouded by the science of disputation,
they will no longer perform sacrifices and the _Homa_. And deceived by
the false science of reasons, they will direct their hearts towards
everything mean and low. And men will till low lands for cultivation and
employ cows and calves that are one year old, in drawing the plough and
carrying burthens. And sons having slain their sires, and sires having
slain their sons will incur no opprobrium. And they will frequently save
themselves from anxiety by such deeds, and even glory in them. And the
whole world will be filled with _mleccha_ behaviour and notions and
ceremonies, and sacrifices will cease and joy will be nowhere and
general rejoicing will disappear. And men will rob the possession of
helpless persons, of those that are friendless and of wisdoms also. And,
possessed of small energy and strength, without knowledge and given to
avarice and folly and sinful practices men will accept with joy the
gifts made by wicked people with words of contempt. And, O son of Kunti,
the kings of the earth, with hearts wedded to sin without knowledge and
always boastful of their wisdom, will challenge one another from desire
of taking one another's life. And the Kshatriyas also towards the end of
such a period will become the thorns of the earth. And filled with
avarice and swelling with pride and vanity and, unable and unwilling to
protect (their subjects), they will take pleasure in inflicting
punishments only. And attacking and repeating their attacks upon the
good and the honest, and feeling no pity for the latter, even when they
will cry in grief, the Kshatriyas will, O Bharata, rob these of their
wives and wealth. And no one will ask for a girl (for purposes of
marriage) and no one will give away a girl (for such purposes), but the
girls will themselves choose their lords, when the end of the _Yuga_
comes. And the kings of the earth with souls steeped in ignorance, and
discontented with what they have, will at such a time, rob their
subjects by every means in their power. And without doubt the whole
world will be _mlecchified_.[6] And when the end of the _Yuga_ comes,
the right hand will deceive the left; and the left, the right. And men
with false reputation of learning will contract Truth and the old will
betray the senselessness of the young, and the young will betray the
dotage of the old. And cowards will have the reputation of bravery and
the brave will be cheerless like cowards. And towards the end of the
_Yuga_ men will cease to trust one another. And full of avarice and
folly the whole world will have but one kind of food. And sin will
increase and prosper, while virtue will fade and cease to flourish. And
Brahmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaisyas will disappear, leaving, O king, no
remnants of their orders. And all men towards the end of the Yuga will
become members of one common order, without distinction of any kind. And
sires will not forgive sons, and sons will not forgive sires. And when
the end approaches, wives will not wait upon and serve their husbands.
And at such a time men will seek those countries where wheat and barley
form the staple food. And, O monarch, both men and women will become
perfectly free in their behaviour and will not tolerate one another's
acts. And, O Yudhishthira, the whole world will be _mlecchified_. And
men will cease to gratify the gods by offerings of _Sraddhas_. And no
one will listen to the words of others and no one will be regarded as a
preceptor by another. And, O ruler of men, intellectual darkness will
envelop the whole earth, and the life of man will then be measured by
sixteen years, on attaining to which age death will ensue. And girls of
five or six years of age will bring forth children and boys of seven or
eight years of age will become fathers. And, O tiger among kings, when
the end of the _Yuga_ will come, the wife will never be content with her
husband, nor the husband with his wife. And the possessions of men will
never be much, and people will falsely bear the marks of religion, and
jealousy and malice will fill the world. And no one will, at that time,
be a giver (of wealth or anything else) in respect to any one else. And
the inhabited regions of the earth will be afflicted with dearth and
famine, and the highways will be filled with lustful men and women of
evil repute. And, at such a time, the women will also entertain an
aversion towards their husbands. And without doubt all men will adopt
the behaviour of the _mlecchas_, become omnivorous without distinction,
and cruel in all their acts, when the end of the _Yuga_ will come. And,
O thou foremost of the Bharatas, urged by avarice, men will, at that
time, deceive one another when they sell and purchase. And without a
knowledge of the ordinance, men will perform ceremonies and rites, and,
indeed, behave as listeth them, when the end of the _Yuga_ comes. And
when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, urged by their very dispositions, men
will act cruelly, and speak ill of one another. And people will, without
compunction, destroy trees and gardens. And men will be filled with
anxiety as regards the means of living. And, O king, overwhelmed with
covetousness, men will kill Brahmanas and appropriate and enjoy the
possessions of their victims. And the regenerate ones, oppressed by
Sudras, and afflicted with fear, and crying _Oh_ and _Alas_, will wander
over the earth without anybody to protect them. And when men will begin
to slay one another, and become wicked and fierce and without any
respect for animal life, then will the _Yuga_ come to an end. And, O
king, even the foremost of the regenerate ones, afflicted by robbers,
will, like crows, fly in terror and with speed, and seek refuge, O
perpetuator of the Kuru race, in rivers and mountains and inaccessible
regions. And always oppressed by bad rulers with burthens of taxes, the
foremost of the regenerate classes, O lord of the earth, will, in those
terrible times, take leave of all patience and do improper acts by
becoming even the servants of the Sudras. And Sudras will expound the
scriptures, and Brahmanas will wait upon and listen to them, and settle
their course of duty accepting such interpretations as their guides. And
the low will become the high, and the course of things will look
contrary. And renouncing the gods, men will worship bones and other
relics deposited within walls. And, at the end of the _Yuga_, the Sudras
will cease to wait upon and serve the Brahmanas. And in the asylums of
great _Rishis_, and the teaching institutions of Brahmanas, and in
places sacred to the gods and sacrificial compounds, and in sacred
tanks, the earth will be disfigured with tombs and pillars containing
bony relics and not graced with temples dedicated to the gods. All this
will take place at the end of the _Yuga_, and know that these are the
signs of the end of the _Yuga_. And when men become fierce and destitute
of virtue and carnivorous and addicted to intoxicating drinks, then doth
the _Yuga_ come to an end. And, O monarch, when flowers will be begot
within flowers, and fruits within fruits, then will the _Yuga_ come to
an end. And the clouds will pour rain unseasonably when the end of the
_Yuga_ approaches. And, at that time, ceremonial rites of men will not
follow one another in due order, and the Sudras will quarrel with the
Brahmanas. And the earth will soon be full of _mlecchas_, and the
Brahmanas will fly in all directions for fear of the burthen of taxes.
And all distinctions between men will cease as regards conduct and
behaviour, and afflicted with honorary tasks and offices, people will
fly to woody retreats, subsisting on fruits and roots. And the world
will be so afflicted, that rectitude of conduct will cease to be
exhibited anywhere. And disciples will set at naught the instructions of
preceptors, and seek even to injure them. And preceptors impoverished
will be disregarded by men. And friends and relatives and kinsmen will
perform friendly offices for the sake of the wealth only that is
possessed by a person. And when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, everybody
will be in want. And all the points of the horizon will be ablaze, and
the stars and stellar groups will be destitute of brilliancy, and the
planets and planetary conjunctions will be inauspicious. And the course
of the winds will be confused and agitated, and innumerable meteors will
flash through the sky, foreboding evil. And the Sun will appear with six
others of the same kind. And all around there will be din and uproar,
and everywhere there will be conflagrations. And the Sun, from the hour
of his rising to that of setting, will be enveloped by Rahu. And the
deity of a thousand eyes will shower rain unseasonably. And when the end
of the _Yuga_ comes, crops will not grow in abundance. And the women
will always be sharp in speech and pitiless and fond of weeping. And
they will never abide by the commands of their husbands. And when the
end of the _Yuga_ comes, sons will slay fathers and mothers. And women,
living uncontrolled, will slay their husbands and sons. And, O king,
when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, _Rahu_ will swallow the Sun
unseasonably. And fires will blaze up on all sides. And travellers
unable to obtain food and drink and shelter even when they ask for
these, will lie down on the wayside refraining from urging their
solicitations. And when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, crows and snakes
and vultures and kites and other animals and birds will utter frightful
and dissonant cries. And when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, men will cast
away and neglect their friends and relatives and attendants. And, O
monarch, when the end of the _Yuga_ comes, men abandoning the countries
and directions and towns and cities of their occupation, will seek for
new ones, one after another. And people will wander over the earth,
uttering, "_O father, O son_", and such other frightful and rending
cries.
[5] The word in the text is _Kora-dushakas_, supposed by Wilson
to be the _Paspalum frumentacea_ (_vide_ Dict.).
[6] The word in the text is _mlecchibhutam_. The Sanskrit
grammar affords a great facility for the formation of verbs from
substantives. _Mlecchify_ may be hybrid, but it correctly and
shortly signifies the Sanskrit word.
"'And when those terrible times will be over, the creation will begin
anew. And men will again be created and distributed into the four orders
beginning with Brahmanas. And about that time, in order that men may
increase, Providence, according to its pleasure, will once more become
propitious. And then when the Sun, the Moon, and Vrihaspati will, with
the constellation _Pushya_[7], enter the same sign, the _Krita_ age will
begin again. And the clouds will commence to shower seasonably, and the
stars and stellar conjunctions will become auspicious. And the planets,
duly revolving in their orbits, will become exceedingly propitious. And
all around, there will be prosperity and abundance and health and peace.
And commissioned by Time, a Brahmana of the name of _Kalki_ will take
his birth. And he will glorify Vishnu and possess great energy, great
intelligence, and great prowess. And he will take his birth in a town of
the name of _Sambhala_ in an auspicious Brahmana family. And vehicles
and weapons, and warriors and arms, and coats of mail will be at his
disposal as soon as he will think of them. And he will be the king of
kings, and ever victorious with the strength of virtue. And he will
restore order and peace in this world crowded with creatures and
contradictory in its course. And that blazing Brahmana of mighty
intellect, having appeared, will destroy all things. And he will be the
Destroyer of all, and will inaugurate a new _Yuga_. And surrounded by
the Brahmanas, that Brahmana will exterminate all the _mlecchas_
wherever those low and despicable persons may take refuge.'"
[7] _Pushya_ is the eighth lunar asterism consisting of three
stars, of which one is, the Cancer. (Vide Wilson's Diet.).