Markandeya Describes the Kali Yuga Decay

Yudhishthira had just heard Markandeya describe the destruction and creation at the end of a yuga — the fire that burns everything, the flood that washes the world clean, the sage alone in the vast ocean, waiting for the new age to begin. It was a vision of time on a scale that made human ambition seem like dust. Now he wanted to know about the other end of the cycle — not the grand annihilation, but the slow decay. He asked Markandeya: when dharma is confounded in kali yuga, what will remain? What will men eat? How long will they live? What garments will they wear? After what time will krita yuga return? Markandeya, to please Krishna and the Pandavas, began to speak. "In krita yuga," he said, "dharma stood on four feet — like a bull, firm and whole. In treta, adharma took away one leg. In dvapara, dharma and adharma were mixed half and half. But in kali yuga, only one quarter of dharma will remain. Three-quarters of adharma will be established in the world." Everything would shrink, he said — valour, intelligence, strength, power — following the change in the yuga. Kings, brahmanas, vaishyas and shudras would only pretend to practise dharma. Men would be deceitful about it, vain about their learning, and would abbreviate the truth. Because truth would be destroyed, lifespans would shorten. And because lifespans would shorten, no one would acquire much learning. Uninstructed and lacking knowledge, ignorance would make them prey to greed. They would be addicted to avarice, anger and desire. They would bear enmity and wish to kill each other. The varnas would collapse. Brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas would consort with each other and become the equal of shudras — devoid of austerities and truth. The lowest would rise to the middle and the middle would sink to the bottom. Men would consider their wives to be their enemies. They would live on fish and milk goats and sheep. They would destroy cows. They would dig up the banks of rivers with spades and sow herbs there, but the herbs would yield little fruit. The father would enjoy what belongs to the son and the son what belongs to the father. Rules about what should be eaten would be transgressed. Brahmanas would not observe vows and would criticize the Vedas. Deluded by their love for debate, they would not observe worship and sacrifices. Sons would kill fathers and fathers would kill sons — and this would not be regarded as reprehensible. They would take great pride in it. The entire world would be overtaken by mleccha conduct — the ways of those outside the Vedic order. There would be no rites and no sacrifices. There would be unhappiness everywhere and no festivities. Men would rob the possessions of others — even of the weak, even of their relatives, even of widows. Kings would hire assassins. The ignorant, thinking themselves wise, would seek to kill each other. Kshatriyas would become the thorns of the world — they would not protect others, but would be greedy, insolent with pride and vanity. They would attack righteous ones and enjoy their wives and possessions. They would feel no pity, even when there were cries of grief. No one would ask for a maiden. No one would give a maiden away. Women would choose themselves. Kings, discontented with what they possessed, would use every means to steal the property of others. The old would think like children and children would have the intelligence of the old. Cowards would take pride in their bravery and the brave would be depressed as cowards. Overcome by greed and delusion, everyone would eat the same kind of food. Adharma would extend and there would be no dharma. There would be no brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas left — the world would have only one varna. Fathers would not pardon their sons, nor sons their fathers. Wives would not tend to their husbands. Men would seek out cities and regions where barley and wheat were eaten. Men and women would eat whatever they wished. They would not tolerate each other. The greatest lifespan would be for sixteen years. Girls who were five or six years old would give birth. Boys who were seven or eight years old would beget children. Women would not find satisfaction with their husbands, nor men with their wives. The countryside would be full of towers. The crossroads would be full of jackals. Women would be full of hair. There would be cruel mleccha conduct everywhere. People would eat everything. They would be terrible in all their deeds. But then — at the end of the kali yuga — the sun, the moon, the planet Tishya and Jupiter would enter a single conjunction. That would signal the return of krita yuga. A brahmana named Kalki Vishnuyasha would be born in the village of Sambhala. He would be a king and an emperor, endowed with great power. He would destroy the mlecchas — all the barbarians and thieves and those who had abandoned dharma. He would restore order. He would establish the varnas in their proper places. He would perform the horse sacrifice. And with him, a new krita yuga would begin. Markandeya fell silent. The prophecy was complete.