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Re: Why the name Kali Yuga?

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Balakrishnan M • February 18, 2002 


Dear Nityavasu,

Some informations about the Kali yuga, I have pasted
below. For details you can click the following
websites:-

http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto1/chapter16.html

http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto1/chapter17.html

I hope it helps.

Bala
Penang, Malaysia


Canto 1 
 
Chapter 16
 
How Parîkchit Received the Age of Kali

 (1) Sûta said: "O learned ones, thereafter Parîkchit,
the great devotee, ruled over the earth under the
instructions of the twice-born, with the qualities the
astrologers, predicting the future at the time of his
birth, had thought he would have. (2) He married
Irâvatî, the daughter of King Uttarâ, and begot four
sons from her with Janamejaya as the first. (3) At the
Ganges he performed three horse-sacrifices with proper
rewards for Kripâcârya, whom he selected for his
spiritual master, and the godly that came into view
with it. (4) Once on a chastising campaign he, the
valiant hero, by his prowess managed to punish the
master of Kali-yuga who, disguised as a king, lower
than a sûdra was hurting the legs of a cow and bull."
(5) Saunaka inquired: "Why did he only punish the
master of Kali during his campaign - he was dressed up
like a king, but as lowest of the sûdra's striking the
legs of a cow. Please describe, o fortunate one, all
that to us as far as it relates to the discourse about
Krishna. (6) What would otherwise, for the liberated
ones who relish the honey at His lotusfeet, be the use
to listen lifelong to the discussing of illusory
topics with which one only wastes one's valuable life.
(7) O Sûta, only short is the life of the human beings
who are sure to meet death. The eternal is of those
who desire herein to call for the representative of
the Lord, Yamârâja, the controller of death, to limit
the performances. (8) No one will die as long as the
one who causes death is present in this life, for the
reason of which the representative has been invited by
the sages - let the ones under his grip drink of the
nectar of the narrations about His divine pastimes.
(9) Those who are lazy, of trivial interest and
short-lived pass their days the way they sleep at
night in activities without a purpose."
 (10) Sûta said: "When Parîkchit, residing in the Kuru
capital, heard that the symptoms of Kali-yuga had
entered the domain of his jurisdiction, he thought the
news not very palatable and took up his arrows and bow
seeing his chance for military action. (11) Well
decorated under the protection of the lion in his flag
and with black horses pulling his chariot, he left the
capital accompanied by charioteers, cavalry, elephants
and infantry troops for the purpose of conquering.
(12) Bhadrâsva, Ketumâla, Bhârata, the northern
countries of Kuru and Kimpurusa behind the Himalaya's
were the parts of the planet he conquered keeping
strength exacting tribute. (13-14-15) Everywhere he
went he continuously heard what great souls his
forefathers were and he had also indications of the
glorious acts of Lord Krishna from the people he saw.
He as well heard of his own deliverance from the
powerful rays of the weapon of Aswatthâmâ and of the
devotion amongst the descendants of Vrishni and Parthâ
for Lord Kesava [Krishna as the killer of the demon
Kesi, the mad horse]. Extremely pleased of having
gained in his outlook he opened his eyes to those
people and gave them generously necklaces and other
riches. (16) Figuring as a chariot driver, presiding
in assemblies, acting as a servant, being a friend and
keeping the watch at night, the one of Vishnu who was
universally obeyed Himself [Krishna], had acted with
prayers and obeisances relating to the godfearing sons
of Pându. This filled the king with devotion unto His
lotus feet.
 (17) Now you may know from me about how astonishingly
he, day after day, kept himself close in being
absorbed in such thoughts about the good of the
forefathers. (18) The wandering personality of the
religion, that stood on one leg only [the so called
'bull' of dharma who's legs stand for the four
fundamental human values], met with the aggrieved cow
[mother Earth] who had tears in her eyes like a mother
that has lost her child. (19) He said: 'Madam, are you
hale and hearty? Looking aggrieved with a somewhat
darkened face you appear to be affected by a disease
or to be thinking of a friend far away, o mother. (20)
Are you lamenting about the diminishing of my legs as
I stand on one only, or is it because the offensive
meat-eaters are to exploit you? Or is it because the
theists are bereft of their share due to a lack of
sacrifices or because the living beings increasingly
suffer from scarcity, famine and drought? (21) Are you
in compassion with the unhappy woman and children on
earth who are without the protection of their men or
the way one speaks in the families of the learned
against the principles of the goddess? Or do you
lament about the way most of them act against the
culture of learning taking shelter with the ruling
class? (22) Is it because the unworthy administrators
are bewildered under the influence of Kali-yuga and
have put the affairs of the state here and there in
disorder? Or is it because of the way society is
inclined to take its food and drink and how one
sleeps, bathes and has intercourse? (23) Could it be,
o mother Earth, that you are thinking of the salvation
brought by the activities of the incarnation of the
Lord who decreased your heavy load but is now out of
sight? (24) Please inform me, o reservoir of all
riches, about the reason of your tribulations that
reduced you to such weakness. Is it mother, that your
good fortune that was even adored by the godly, was
forcibly taken away by the very powerful influence of
time?' 
(25) Mother Earth replied: 'O personality of religion
['Dharma'], I will certainly reply to all that you,
from your good self, have asked me, one after another,
as by your four legs you exist in all the worlds to
bring happiness. (26-30) Truthfulness, cleanliness,
compassion, self-control, magnanimity, contentment,
straightforwardness, concentration, sense-control,
responsibility, equality, tolerance, equanimity and
loyalty. And certainly also knowledge, detachment,
leadership, chivalry, influence, power, dutifulness,
independence, dexterity, beauty, serenity and
kindheartedness, as well as ingenuity, gentility,
mannerliness, determination, knowledgeability,
propriety, pleasantness, joyfulness, immovability,
faithfulness, fame and dignity - all these and many
others are the everlasting qualities of the Supreme
Lord, the never diminishing higher nature which can be
attained by those worthy of that greatness. By Him I
am myself, as the goddess of fortune, such a reservoir
of qualities, but in the absence of Him as the resting
place, Kali, the store of all sins, is seen in all the
worlds. (31) I am also lamenting for you as well as
for the best of the godly, the gods and the ancestors
in heaven, the sages and the devotees, as well as for
all in their status orientations of society. (32-33)
Laksmi [the goddess of fortune] who's grace was sought
by demigods like Brahmâ, who for many days were doing
penance in surrender to the Lord, has for the sake of
worship forsaken her own abode in the forest of lotus
flowers out of attachment to the all-blissful feet.
>From Him, having myself obtained the special powers of
the lotusflower, thunderbolt, flag and driving rod, I
could, being under the impression of the marks of the
feet of the Supreme Lord, the owner of all opulence,
being decorated that way beautifully supersede the
three worlds - but at the end when I was feeling so
fortunate, He has left me. (34) He who certainly
relieved me of the burden of the hundreds of military
divisions of atheist kings, incarnated also for you in
the Yadu-family, as you were in difficulty lacking in
strength to keep yourselves standing. (35) Who
therefore can tolerate it to be separated from the
love, glances, smiles and hearty appeal of the Supreme
Original Person that conquered the passionate wrath
and gravity of woman like Sathyabhâmâ and made my hair
[grass] stand on end out of pleasure under the imprint
of His feet. (36) While the earth and the personality
of religion were thus conversing, arrived Parîkchit,
who had the name to be the saint among the kings, at
the SarasvatĂ® river flowing to the east."
 

 
Chapter 17
 
Punishment and reward of Kali

(1) Sûta said: "It was there [at the Sarasvatî river]
that the king observed that a cow and bull were beaten
with a club as if they had no owner, by a sûdra [one
of the lowest class] dressed up as a king. (2) The
bull, that was as white as a lotus, was terrified of
being beaten by the sûdra and urinated and trembled
out of fear, standing on one leg only. (3) The cow
also, on itself a religious example but now rendered
poor and distressed from the sûdra who had beaten her
legs, was without a calf and had tears in her eyes
being very weak hankering after some grass to eat. (4)
>From his with gold embossed chariot Parîkchit, well
equipped with bow and arrows, with a thundering voice
inquired: (5) 'Who are you, that under my protection,
at this place, you think you can violently kill the
helpless! Although you appear to be of strength having
dressed up like a man of God as if you are an actor,
you behave like someone who never saw the light of
culture [to be twice born]. (6) Do you think that
because Lord Krishna and the carrier of the bow the
Gândîva [Arjuna] are out of sight, you can secretly
beat an innocent cow? Being a culprit that way you
deserve to be killed!' 
(7) 'And you', he said turning to the bull, ' are you
just a bull as white as a lotus moving on one leg that
has lost three legs or are you some demigod in the
form of a bull causing us grief? (8) Never under the
protection of the arms of any of the kings of the Kuru
dynasty there has been grieving on this earth, except
with for you having tears in your eyes because of
someone else. (9) O son of Surabhi [the celestial
cow], in my kingdom there will be no lamentation, so
do not fear the sûdra, and mother cow, do not cry; as
long as I am alive as the ruler and subduer of the
envious, everything will be good for you. (10-11) O
chaste one, he will lose his fame, longevity, fortune
and a good birth, in whose state the living beings are
terrified by miscreants. It is certainly the supreme
duty of the kings to subdue in order to end the misery
of the ones who suffer and therefore I shall kill this
most wretched man so violent against other living
beings. (12) Who is he who could cut off your legs, o
son of Surabhi - as it happened with you it has never
happened before in the state of the kings that live
following Lord Krishna. (13) Just tell me, o bull, for
you are honest and without offenses, about him who
mutilated you and tarnished the reputation of the sons
of Parthâ. (14) Those who make the offenseless suffer
may fear me wherever they are, as I will curb the
actions of the miscreants and restore the good fortune
of the honest ones. (15) The upstart who offends
innocent living beings, I shall forthwith defeat,
whether he's a demigod from heaven with armor and
decorations or not. (16) It is certainly the holy duty
of the head of state to always protect the ones who
live in loyalty and rule safely according to the
scriptures over others who are in fact straying'.
(17) The personality of religion said: 'All you said
speaking for the freedom from anxiety of the sufferers
just befits one of the Pândava dynasty by whose
qualities even Lord Krishna acted as a servant. (18) O
greatest among the human beings, from the bewilderment
of the person by all the differences of opinion, we
cannot tell what would be the cause of all human
suffering. (19) Some who deny all kinds of duality
declare that it is from one self that one suffers,
other say that it is from the superhuman, while still
others say that it is all due to the activities of
material nature or of adopting outside authorities.
(20) It is beyond the power of reasoning and thinking
to tell which of them is right, some for sure
concluded about this, o sage amongst the kings; the
judgment is left to your own intelligence '."
(21) Sûta said: "Parîkchit, who attentively heard the
personality of religion thus speak, o best among the
brahmins, mindfully replied. (22) The king said: 'To
the religion you say, being the personality of the
principles in the disguise of a bull, that whatever
those who act against the religion do also becomes
identified with the place of the one who lays his
finger on it. (23) In other words: the Lord His ways
with the material world are inconceivable and to all
it is clear that nor thinking nor speaking is of
avail. (24) Austerity, cleanliness, compassion and
thruthfullness [tapah, sauca, dayâ, sathya] are the
legs that established the age of truth [Sathya Yuga,
the 'old days'], but from irreligiosity three of them
broke in pride, too much association with woman and
intoxication. (25) At present, o personality of
religion, you are hobbling along on the one leg of
truthfulness while quarrel personified [Kali],
flourishing on deceit, irreligiously tries to destroy
that leg too. (26) A great burden was taken from the
face of the earth by the Supreme Lord personally and
others also - His all-auspicious footprints brought
good fortune everywhere. (27) Lamenting with tears in
her eyes, the unfortunate and chaste one deserted by
Him, is now enjoyed by the lower-class devoid of the
culture of learning who pose themself as rulers in my
place.' 
 
(28) Thus the personalities of religion and mother
earth were pacified by the great warrior, who took up
his sharp sword in order to kill Kali, the root cause
of irreligion. (29) Knowing that the king prepared to
kill him, Kali, under the pressure of fear, abandoned
the royal dress and fully surrendered himself bowing
his head at the feet. (30) Out of compassion, he who
is kind to the poor and capable of handling worship,
with a smile refrained from killing the one fallen at
the feet of the hero of whom it is said that he is
worthy of being sung to. (31) The king said: 'Do not
fear as you surrendered with folded hands; we
certainly inherited the fame of Arjuna, but there can
be no question either of being allowed to stay in my
kingdom as you are the friend of irreligion. (32) With
you present in the body as a god of men, everywhere
all the irreligion of greed, falsehood, robbery,
incivility, treachery, misfortune, cheating, quarrel
and vanity will be abound in the masses. (33)
Therefore, o friend of irreligion, you do not deserve
to remain with the religion and truth in a place of
sacrifice where one duly and expertly is offering in
service to the Lord of sacrifices. (34) In such
sacrificial ceremonies the Supreme Personality of God,
the Lord, is being worshiped as the soul of all
worshipable deities, in the form of which he spreads
welfare as He is the inviolable Supersoul to all
desires being inside as well as outside like the air
is to all the moving and unmoving.' 
(35) Suta said: "That way being addressed by King
Parîkchit, the personality of Kali was trembling
seeing him ready with a raised sword speaking like
Yamarâja, the Lord of Death. (36) Kali said: 'Wherever
that I may live under your Order, o Emperor, I will
always see the reign of your bow and arrows also. (37)
Therefore please, o chief of the protectors of the
religion, allot me a place where for certain I can
find a permanent residence under your rule'." 
(38) Sûta said: "Thus being petitioned, at that time
he gave Kali the permission to dwell in places where
the four sinful activities of gambling, drinking,
prostitution and animal slaughter [dyûtam, pânam,
striyah, sûnâ] were taking place. (39) Next to that
the master gave him, upon his insistent begging, the
place where there is gold as gold by passion is the
fifth sin bringing falsity, intoxication, lust and
enmity. (40) Those five places, where surely
irreligion is encouraged, were thus by the son of
Uttarâ given as the dwelling places under his
direction. (41) Therefore all who seek well-being
should never contact all this, specifically not those
on the path of liberation, the royalty, the state
officials and the teachers. (42) By encouraging
activities he thus perfectly improved the earth by
reestablishing the bull its three lost legs of
austerity, cleanliness and mercy. (43-44) Of him is
the present rule; the throne that was handed over by
the grandfather king [Yudhisthira] who desired to
withdraw in the forest. From that rule, that sage
among the kings and chief of the Kuru-dynasty, is now
known in Hastinapura as the most fortunate and famous
emperor. (45) Because of this experience of the son of
Abhimanyu, the king; thanks to his rule over the
earth, you can all have the initiation of the
performing of sacrifices like this."


--- nv  wrote:
> I read somewhere that the birth of Kali was the
> reason
> why this is called KaliYuga. Is it true?
> 
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=====

M. Balakrishnan

http://www.geocities.com/WallStreet/District/9622/resbala.html


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