As the age draws to its close, the world changes in troubling ways. People become concerned only with their own survival, forgetting the welfare of others. Villages are beset by thieves, and at the crossroads, those bearing Shiva’s trident stand as ominous sentinels. Women, too, begin to wear their hair loose, a sign of the times, and when the god announces the end of the age, strange rains fall from the sky. Merchants, once trusted, turn corrupt and deceitful, their trades surrounded by impostors who wear vain disguises. Though people perform many sacrifices, their words among themselves are harsh, honesty is lost, and slander becomes common. Good deeds go unrewarded, and those who slander others eventually fall, marking the decline of the age. The earth itself suffers: kings vanish, grain and wealth disappear, and cities and regions turn barren. Water and fruit become scarce, and those meant to protect the people fail in their duties, while lawless rulers emerge. Thieves steal wealth and violate others’ wives, driven by base desires and fondness for violence. Proper conduct is abandoned; men wear their hair loose and bear tridents, and children are born as early as sixteen years of age. Shudras, with white teeth, skin, and eyes, shaven heads, and wearing ochre robes, begin to practice righteousness as the end approaches. Thieves steal crops and sturdy garments, and even thieves rob other thieves, creating a cycle of theft. When proper work ceases and the world becomes inactive, insects, mice, and snakes attack humans. Abundance, safety, health, and capability become rare. People, afflicted by hunger and fear, seek refuge in the regions of Kauśikī. For those overwhelmed by suffering, the highest lifespan is a hundred years, but the Vedas are no longer seen in the Kali age. Sacrifices perish, overwhelmed by unrighteousness; even those in ochre robes, without ties, and many skull-bearers wander the land. Some sell the Vedas, others sell holy places, while impostors obstruct the established orders of caste and stage of life. When the Kali age arrives, these people emerge, and Shudras, skilled in dharma and wealth, study the Vedas. Kings of Shudra lineage perform Ashvamedha sacrifices, but only after killing women, children, cows, and even each other. Disturbances abound; suffering increases, lifespans shorten, bodies decay, and disease afflicts all. Attachment to unrighteousness envelops the Kali age in darkness, and acts such as killing Brahmins and others arise among the people. Lifespan, strength, and beauty decline, and in a short time, humans meet their end. Yet, those excellent twice-born who practice dharma at the end of the age, following the scriptures without envy, are blessed. In Treta, dharma is practiced yearly; in Dvapara, it is remembered monthly; but in Kali, the wise attain it daily, according to their hardship. This is the condition of the Kali age. Now, hear of its twilight portion: with each age, three quarters of perfection diminish, leaving only a quarter. The nature of each age and its twilight remains, established in its own portion. When the twilight portion at the end of the age arrives, a ruler arises to destroy the wicked. In the lunar lineage, one named Pramiti is spoken of, who was a man in a previous interval of Svayambhu. Having completed twenty years, Pramiti travels the earth, leading an army with horses, chariots, and elephants. He is surrounded by hundreds and thousands of Brahmins armed with weapons, and together they slay thousands of mlecchas. Pramiti destroys all kings born of Shudra lineage and all impostors, as their lord. He kills those who are not exceedingly righteous everywhere, as well as those born from mixed castes and their followers. Powerful and invincible, Pramiti sets the wheel of action in motion, bringing an end to the mlecchas and roaming the earth. Though born as a man here, in a previous birth Pramiti was known as a deity—as Vishnu. From the lunar lineage, when the Kali age is complete, the lord begins his twenty-year journey in his thirty-second year. He destroys beings by the hundreds and thousands, leaving only seeds remaining on earth through his cruel deeds. Driven by mutual causes and sudden anger, he subdues and destroys almost all the unrighteous outcastes. With his followers, Pramiti takes up residence between the Ganga and Yamuna. After some time, he remains there with his ministers and army. Having overthrown all kings and thousands of foreigners, at the twilight of the age, as the end of the yuga approaches, only a few people remain here and there. Those who are left, seized by greed, become unrestrained in every way. They begin to harm one another, even after bowing in greeting. Without a king to guide them, uncertainty prevails, as dictated by the age. Thus unfolds the story of the end of the age, as revealed in the sacred verses.