As the Kali age unfolds, the world is overtaken by chaos and decline. Rogues roam without restraint, their hair unkempt and wild, brandishing clubs as they move through the land. Among them are those with white teeth, skilled in the art of dice, shaven-headed and clad in ochre robes—an unsettling sight, for their appearance belies their unruly actions. Thieves become rampant, not only stealing crops from the fields but also garments from the people. As knowledge fades and right action ceases, the world slips into inactivity and apathy. Well-being, health, and capability, once abundant, grow exceedingly rare. Overwhelmed by suffering, the people find that the highest lifespan attainable is now no more than a hundred years. Sacrifices, once a source of merit and prosperity, fail in the grip of unrighteousness. Some, in their desperation, stoop to selling the Vedas themselves, while others barter away the sanctity of holy places. Such is the character of those who rise to prominence in the Kali age. During this time, even kings of Shudra birth perform the Ashvamedha sacrifice, once reserved for the noblest sovereigns. People, driven by base desires, achieve their aims by killing one another. So deep is their devotion to unrighteousness that the Kali age is shrouded in darkness. With its advent, lifespans shorten, strength wanes, and beauty diminishes. Yet, at the very end of the age, O best of the twice-born, the blessed will once again turn to righteousness. In the Treta Yuga, righteousness endures for a year; in Dvapara, for a month. Such is the nature of the ages, and now the twilight of Kali approaches. When this twilight arrives, a king named Pramati is born in the lunar lineage. For twenty years he moves across the earth, accompanied by Brahmins—hundreds and thousands strong—armed and ready. Together, they bring destruction upon those of Shudra birth, and even those who are excessively righteous do not escape his wrath. Pramati’s fury extends to all directions: he devastates the peoples of the north, the central regions, the east, the south, the Dravidians and the Sinhalese. He lays waste to the Tuṣāras, Barbaras, Chinese, Śūlikas, Daradas, and Khaśas. With his power and might, he sets the wheel of destiny in motion, becoming the destroyer of the mlecchas and the lord who brings their end. Pramati is born as a portion of the god Mādhava, his lineage rooted in the lunar race, and he reigns as the lord during this former Kali Yuga. In his time, he slaughters all beings, especially men, driven by sudden anger and mutual causes. Alongside his followers, he claims supremacy in the lands between the Ganges and the Yamuna. After annihilating all the kings and countless mlecchas, only a few scattered people remain in the devastated lands. Those who survive are gripped by fear, insulting and striking one another in their distress. Afflicted by mutual dread, they become heedless of their own lives, tormented without clear cause. All restraint, lamentation, affection, and shame vanish from their hearts. Overwhelmed by grief, they abandon their sons and wives, their senses bewildered. With nowhere else to turn, they forsake their homelands and seek refuge in the borderlands, leaving behind the countries that once nurtured them.