As the terrible age unfolded, all the people—tormented by mutual fear—became deeply distressed. Overwhelmed, they wandered aimlessly, abandoning their families and homes. So great was their misery that they became indifferent even to their own lives. Compassion vanished from their hearts, and with the destruction of Vedic and customary law, chaos reigned; they began to kill one another. Boundaries of conduct disappeared, and many were expelled from their communities, stripped of affection and shame. Righteousness was lost, their strength broken, and their numbers dwindled until only twenty-five remained. Driven by disputes, their senses unbalanced, they abandoned sons and wives. Drought struck, livelihoods were lost, and these suffering remnants wandered far from their homelands. They settled in borderlands, leaving their countries behind, and sought out rivers, seas, wells, and mountains for shelter. Their suffering was immense. They survived on honey, meat, roots, and fruits, clothing themselves in bark, leaves, or animal skins. Bereft of rituals and possessions, they had fallen away from the distinctions of caste and stage of life, entering into terrible hardship. Only a handful remained, enduring great suffering. Afflicted by old age, disease, and hunger, their minds sank into sorrow and despair. Yet, from this despair, reflection was born, and from reflection arose a sense of equality among them. Out of this awareness of equality, righteousness and virtue emerged once more—even though these survivors at the end of Kali Yuga were without formal restraint or outward form, they possessed these qualities within themselves. Then, for these people, the age turned over in a single day and night, their minds bewildered as if in sleep or intoxication. By the force of destiny, the cycle of the Krita (Satya) age returned, and with its beginning, Krita Yuga arose again. The people who survived Kali were then born into Krita Yuga, and the perfected beings who remained moved about unseen among them. In this new age, seven groups were established along with the seven sages: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, remembered for the purpose of procreation. All those born in Kali became undifferentiated at that time; among them, the seven sages expounded dharma, and others did so as well. The practices associated with varna (caste) and ashrama (stage of life), both Vedic and traditional, were twofold; when these rites were performed, the people flourished in Krita Yuga. Of the dharmas performed according to Vedic and traditional rites, as shown by the seven sages, some remained at the end of the age to establish dharma. The sages persisted through the periods of the Manus, just as grass endures on earth after being scorched by fire. As the first rain brings forth new growth at the roots of forests, so too does the Krita Yuga arise among those of Kali. Thus, the succession of ages proceeds, each following the other, continuing until the end of a Manvantara, without interruption. With each age, happiness, lifespan, strength, beauty, dharma, wealth, and desire diminish, losing three-quarters in each successive age. Dharma’s fulfillment declines during the transitional periods called sandhya and sandhyamsa; this is the established order. For all four ages, this is the method, the cycle of the four ages multiplied a thousand times. This is said to be the day of Brahma, and his night is remembered as equal in length. From the end of the age arises dullness and a lack of integrity among beings. This is the nature of all the ages; for these four ages, multiplied, the total is seventy-one. As they revolve in succession, this is called a Manvantara. In each age, whatever occurs, happens accordingly. So too, in other creations, it happens again in order; as distinctions arise, so it occurs. There are twenty-five such cycles, neither fewer nor more; thus, Kalpas proceed together with the ages and their characteristics. This is the nature of all the Manvantaras. Just as the changes of ages have long continued, so the world of living beings persists, revolving through decline and renewal according to the nature of the ages. Thus, the characteristics of the ages have been described in summary, for past and future, in all the Manvantaras. With a single Manvantara, all the intervening periods have been explained; there is no doubt—a Kalpa is determined by a Kalpa. In those yet to come, likewise, one who understands should apply this reasoning to all Manvantaras, both past and future. All those who possess equal pride become, through names and forms, the eightfold gods and the rulers of the Manvantaras. The sages and Manus, too, all have equal purpose; thus, the division of castes and stages of life occurs in every age. The nature of the ages is likewise established by the Lord at that time; the divisions of caste, stage of life, and the ages themselves are accomplished in each age. The measure of the ages has thus been told; and now, the divine sonship of the Lotus-born is to be spoken of. Once again, the Blessed One—Brahma, the Grandfather—created the lost beings as before, at the end of a thousand ages, when dawn arose. When half the supreme period had passed, the waters spread over the earth, and fire over the wind. Fire and wind, united with the subtle elements in the sky, and the eleven senses, along with the subtle elements, all reached the ego and were dissolved at that moment. Then, pride, pervading the great principle, was dissolved instantly. Thus, the eternal cycle of ages, creation, dissolution, and renewal continues, guided by the wisdom of the sages and the will of the Lord.