As unrighteousness takes root and spreads throughout the world, calamities inevitably arise. In the age known as Kali, a dark and difficult time, the lives of all people will become short. Wise ones, eager to understand, ask for a full account of this age—its nature, its laws, the food people will eat, and the conduct they will follow. The response is grave and thorough: the Kali age is exceedingly dreadful, a period where all sins intermingle and flourish. When this terrible era arrives, even the twice-born—those who are expected to uphold the Vedas—will turn away from sacred knowledge. Scholars, once respected for their wisdom, will become corrupted by vain pride and will lack truthfulness. Greed for unrighteousness and devotion to falsehood will grip everyone. Because human lifespans will be so brief, the pursuit and acquisition of true knowledge will all but vanish. People, transgressing all limits, will become ever more inclined toward sin. Deluded by desires and consumed by anger, they will be tormented by anxieties that serve no purpose. The natural order will be overturned: the excellent will become lowly, and the lowly will rise to positions of prominence. Excessive taxes will oppress the people, burdening their lives. Even within the bonds of marriage, fidelity will erode; husbands will seek out other women, and all will covet what belongs to others, both wives and wealth. In this dreadful age, everyone will be devoted to sinful pursuits. On the riverbanks, people will dig up and destroy medicinal plants with spades, heedless of the harm. Women, too, will be drawn to courtesans and those with charming appearance and conduct. Some will even sell the Vedas, and the twice-born will take pleasure in adopting the ways of the Shudras. Brahmins, driven by greed for wealth, will neglect their vows. Rituals for ancestors and others will be performed only for show, lacking genuine devotion. Affection for cows will be motivated solely by the desire for milk, not reverence. The lowest of men will give gifts only to those unworthy of them. No one’s mind will be truly devoted to Vishnu. When Krishna’s nature has departed from Krishna, the wicked will even attack the twice-born. The twice-born, in turn, will accept gifts from the fallen, disregarding purity and tradition. As the age draws to its close, none will utter the holy name of Hari. The twice-born will eat the food of the Shudras, abandoning their own traditions. Atheists will thrive, reviling the four stages of life. The lowest, marked as heretics, will assume the duties meant for the twice-born and, relying on false reasoning, will teach the duties of the Shudras. There will be wicked-hearted Shudras, and even among those who have taken up renunciation, many will be unworthy—atheists, skull-bearers, and the lowest of mendicants. Shudras will ascend to the highest seats and expound upon duties, while heretics, defilers of the Vedas, will roam widely. In the Kali age, most men will become destroyers of righteousness. The lowest will turn to stealing others’ wealth. All will be intent on praising themselves and slandering others. Thus, O Brahmin, in this age of darkness, men will become companions of unrighteousness, forsaking the path of virtue.