गुरुभक्ताश्च शिष्याश्च पितृभक्ताः सुतास्तथा । योषितः पतिभक्ताश्च पतिव्रतपरायणाः
Disciples were devoted to their teachers, sons to their fathers; women were devoted to their husbands and steadfast in fidelity.
ऋतौ संभोगिनः सर्वे न स्त्रीलुब्धा न लम्मपटाः । न भयं दस्युचौर्याणां न तत्र पारदारिकाः
All engaged in union only at the proper season; there was no lust for women, nor were there lewd acts; there was no fear of robbers or thieves, nor was there adultery.
तरवः पूर्णफलिनः पूर्णक्षीराश्च धेनवः । बलवन्तो जनाः सर्वे दीर्घाः सौन्दर्यसंयुताः
The trees bore full fruit, cows gave abundant milk; all people were strong, tall, and endowed with beauty.
लक्षवर्षायुषः केचित्पुण्यवन्तो क्ष्यरोगिणः । यथा विप्रा विष्णुभक्ता स्त्रिवर्णां विष्णुसेविनः
Some lived for a hundred thousand years, virtuous and free from disease; just as the Brahmins were devoted to Vishnu, so too were the women of all castes.
जलपूर्णा नदा नद्यः संततं कंदरास्तथा । तीर्थपूताश्चतुर्वर्णास्तपः पूता द्विजातयः
The rivers and streams were always full of water, and the mountain caves as well; all four castes were purified by pilgrimage, and the twice-born by austerity.
मनःपूताश्च निखिलाः खलहीनं जगत्त्रयम् । सत्कीर्तिपरिबूर्णं च यशस्यं मङ्गलान्वितम्
All minds were pure, and the three worlds were free from the wicked; filled with noble fame, they were glorious and auspicious.
पितरः सर्वकालेषु तिथिकालेषु देवताः । सर्वकालेष्वतिथयः पूजिताश्च गृहे गृहे
The ancestors at all times, the gods on festival days, and guests at all times were honored in every household.
त्रिवर्णा विप्रभक्ताश्च विप्रभोजतत्पराः । ब्राह्मणस्य मुखं क्षेत्रमनूषरमकण्टकम्
The three castes were devoted to the Brahmins and eager to feed them; the Brahmin's mouth was the field, uninhabited and thornless.
नारायणोत्कीर्तनेन हर्षयुक्तास्तदुत्सवे । न शत्रवो जनानां च सर्वे सर्वंहितैषिणः
All were filled with joy at the festivals of Narayana's praise; there were no enemies among the people, and all sought the welfare of all.
नाऽऽत्मप्रशंसकाः केचित्सर्वे परगुणोत्सुकाः । न देवानां द्विजानां च विदुषां तत्र निन्दकाः
No one praised themselves; all were eager for the virtues of others; there were no slanderers of gods, Brahmins, or the learned.
पुरुषा योषितश्चापि न हि सूर्खाश्च पण्डिताः । न दुःखिनो जनाःसत्ये सर्वेषां रत्नमन्दिरम्
Men and women there are neither foolish nor learned; nor are there any unhappy people—truly, for all, it is a palace of jewels.
मणिमाणिक्यरत्नौघरत्नस्वर्णसमन्वितम् । न भिक्षुका न रोगार्ताः शोकहीनाश्चहर्षिताः
It is filled with heaps of gems, rubies, precious stones, and gold; there are no beggars, no afflicted by disease, all are free from sorrow and joyful.
न हि भूषणहीराश्च नरा नार्यश्च केचन । न पापिनो न धूर्ताश्च न क्षुधार्ता न कुत्सिताः
There are no men or women lacking ornaments; there are no sinners, no deceivers, none suffering from hunger, and none who are despicable.
जराहीनाः प्राणिनश्च शश्वद्यौवनसंस्थिताः । आधिव्याधिविहीनाश्च निर्विकाराश्च देहिनः
Living beings are free from old age, always established in youth; they are without afflictions or diseases, and their bodies are unchanging.
यदुक्तो वै सत्ययुगे धर्मः सत्यं दयादिकम् । पादहीनश्च त्रेतायां सत्यार्ध द्वापरेऽपि च
The dharma described for the Satya Yuga—truth, compassion, and the like—loses one of its feet in Treta, and in Dvapara, only half of truth remains.
धर्मै कपाच्च प्रथमे कलेश्चातिकृशोऽबलः । दुष्टानां दस्युचौर्याणामङ्कुरः प्रभवेद्व्रज
In the first part of Kali, dharma is extremely weak and feeble; in Vraja, the sprouts of wickedness, banditry, and theft begin to appear.
अधर्मनिरताः केचिद्भीताः संगोपिनस्तथा । भीता गुप्ताश्च पुंश्चल्यौ भीताश्च पारदारिकाः
Some are devoted to unrighteousness, some are fearful and conceal themselves; fearful and hidden are the unchaste women, and fearful are those who are adulterous.
धर्मिष्ठानां भयं शश्वदधर्मिष्ठाश्च कम्पिताः । स्वल्पधर्मरता भूपाः स्वल्पवेदरता द्विजाः
The righteous are always in fear, while the unrighteous are trembling; kings are devoted to little dharma, and twice-born to little study of the Vedas.
व्रतधर्मरताः केचित्सर्वे स्वच्छन्दगामिनः । यावत्तिष्ठन्ति तीर्थानि यावत्तिष्ठन्ति साधवः
Some are devoted to vows and dharma, but all act according to their own desires; as long as holy places and the virtuous remain,
यावत्तिष्ठन्ति ग्रामाणां देवाः शास्त्राणि पूजनम् । तावत्किंचित्तपः सत्यं स्वर्गधर्माश एव च
As long as village deities, scriptures, and worship persist, so long do a little austerity, truth, and the hope for heavenly dharma remain.
कलेर्दोषनिधेस्तात गुण एको महानपि। मानसं संभवेत्पुण्यं सुकृतं न हि दृष्कृतम्
O dear one, though Kali is an ocean of faults, it has one great virtue: merit arises from the mind alone; good deeds do not require outward action.
तीर्थादिके गते तात नष्टो धर्माश एव च । कलारूपश्च धर्मश्च यथा कुह्वां निशाकरः
When holy places and the hope for dharma disappear, dharma in the form of Kali remains only as a shadow, like the moon on the new-moon night.
नन्द उवाच तीर्थान्येतानि सर्वाणि तिष्ठन्त्येव कियद्दिनम् । साधवो ग्राम्यदेवाश्च शास्त्राण्येतानि वत्सक
Nanda said: How long do all these holy places, the virtuous, village deities, and these scriptures remain, O child?
श्रीकृष्ण उवाच कलौ दशसहस्राणि हरिस्तिष्ठति मेदिनीम् । देवानां प्रतिमा बूज्या शास्त्राणि च पुराणकम्
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said: In Kali, Hari remains on earth for ten thousand years; the images of the gods are to be worshipped, as are the scriptures and the Purāṇas.
तदर्धमपि तीर्थानि गङ्गादीनि सुनिश्चितम् । तदर्ध ग्रामदेवाश्च वेदाश्च विदुषामपि
For half that time, certainly, the holy places like the Gaṅgā remain; for half of that again, the village deities and the Vedas, even among the learned.
अधर्मः परिबूर्णश्च तदन्ते च कलौ पितः । एकवर्णा भविष्यन्ति वर्णाश्चत्वार एव च
At the end of that, unrighteousness becomes complete in Kali, O father; all four castes will become one.
न मन्त्रपूतोद्वाहश्च न हि सत्यं न य क्षमा । स्त्रीस्वीकाररतो नित्यं ग्राम्यधर्मप्रधानतः
There will be no marriages sanctified by mantras, no truth, nor forbearance; people will always be intent on taking women, and worldly duties will predominate.
न यज्ञसूत्रं तिलकं ब्राह्मणनां च नित्यशः । संध्याशास्त्रविहीनाश्च विप्रवंशाःश्रुता अपि
There will be no sacred thread or tilaka always for the brāhmaṇas; the lineages of the twice-born, though learned, will be without the twilight rituals and scriptural study.
सर्वैः सार्ध च सर्वेषां भक्षणं नियमच्युतम् । अभक्ष्यभक्षा लोकाश्च चतुर्वर्णाश्च लम्पटाः
All together, everyone eats without restraint; the people consume both what is proper and improper, and the four classes are greedy.
नारीषु न सती काचित्पुंश्चली च गृहे गृहे । करोति तर्जनं कान्तं भृत्यतुल्यं च कम्पितम्
Among women, there is not a single chaste one; in every house, wives are unfaithful, scolding their husbands, treating them like servants, and making them tremble.