The Symptoms of Kaliyuga – Ancient Hindu Predictions

Pariskshit and Kali

Yuga is a time scale widely popular in Indian subcontinents. As we refer to one century as a hundred years, hundreds of centuries become one Yuga. Hindu texts say there are four yugas which equal one Maha Yuga.

There are different theories regarding the total number of years comprising four yugas. Based on astrological data and research, most scholars today believe that we already passed the dark age of Kali about 300 years ago. This was first mentioned In the book “The Holy Science” by Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri.

Modern science says time is relative and is also considered an illusion. One can live in Kali Yuga while others in Dwapara Yuga or any other Yuga. Ancient Hindu texts also support what modern philosophers and spiritual guru says about this scale of time and the traits of people living in various Yugas.

Kalki Avatar of Lord Vishnu

Whatever age or Yuga we live in, we wanted to look into one of the most popular Puranas of Hindu dharma, Srimad Bhagavatam.

Chapter Two of Canto Twelve of Srimad Bhagavatam or Srimad Bhagavata Purana Talks about the Kali Yuga of 864000 solar years. In this chapter, you can find the list of predictions and prophecies about the dark times of the Kali Yuga.

The last avatar of Lord Vishnu will descend as Kalki to destroy the effects of Kali, and Satya Yuga will begin, according to Srimad Bhagavata Purana.

In the order of Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali, the cycle of four ages rotates in the society of living entities in this universe. The chapter ends with a brief description and predictions of the future dynasties of the sun and moon coming from Vaivasvata Manu in the next Satya-yuga.

11 Symptoms of Kali Yuga

The Symptoms of Kaliyuga - Ancient Hindu Predictions

In the 12th canto of the 2nd chapter of Srimad Bhagavatam, there is the chapter named ‘The symptoms of Kali Yuga’. Kali Yuga started when Asur Kali (Kali Purush) went inside the golden crown of King Parikshit.

Verse 1

sri-suka uvaca
tatas canu-dinam dharmah
satyam saucam ksama daya
kalena balina rajan
nanksyaty ayur balam smrtih

SB 12.2.1

Sukadeva Gosvami said: Then, O King, religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, tolerance, mercy, duration of life, physical strength, and memory will all diminish day by day because of the powerful influence of the age of Kali.

Verse 2

vittam eva kalau nrnam
janmacara-gunodayah
dharma-nyaya-vyavasthayam
karanam balam eva hi

SB 12.2.2

In Kali-yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behavior, and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only based on one’s power.

Verse 3

dampatye ’bhirucir hetur
mayaiva vyavaharike
stritve pumstve ca hi ratir
vipratve sutram eva hi

SB 12.2.3

Men and women will live together merely because of superficial attraction, and success in business will depend on deceit. Womanliness and manliness will be judged according to one’s expertise in sex, and a man will be known as a brahmana just by his wearing a thread.

Verse 4

lingam evasrama-khyatav
anyonyapatti-karanam
avrttya nyaya-daurbalyam
panditye capalam vacah

SB 12.2.4

A person’s spiritual position will be ascertained merely according to external symbols, and on that same basis, people will change from one spiritual order to the next. A person’s propriety will be seriously questioned if he does not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.

Verse 5

anadhyataivasadhutve
sadhutve dambha eva tu
svikara eva codvahe
snanam eva prasadhanam

SB 12.2.5

A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as a virtue. Marriage will be arranged simply by verbal agreement, and a person will think he is fit to appear in public if he has merely taken a bath.

Verse 6

dure vary-ayanam tirtham
lavanyam kesa-dharanam
udaram-bharata svarthah
satyatve dharstyam eva

hidaksyam kutumba-bharanam
yaso ’rthe dharma-sevanam

SB 12.2.6

A sacred place will be taken to consist of no more than a reservoir of water located at a distance, and beauty will be thought to depend on one’s hairstyle. Filling the belly will become the goal of life, and one who is audacious will be accepted as truthful. He who can maintain a family will be regarded as an expert man, and the principles of religion will be observed only for the sake of reputation.

Verse 7

evam prajabhir dustabhir
akirne ksiti-mandale
brahma-vit-ksatra-sudranam
yo bali bhavita nrpah

SB 12.2.7

As the earth thus becomes crowded with a corrupt population, whoever among any of the social classes shows himself to be the strongest will gain political power.

Verse 8

praja hi lubdhai rajanyair
nirghrnair dasyu-dharmabhih
acchinna-dara-dravina
yasyanti giri-kananam

SB 12.2.8

Losing their wives and properties to such avaricious and merciless rulers, who will behave no better than ordinary thieves, the citizens will flee to the mountains and forests.

Verse 9

saka-mulamisa-ksaudra-
phala-puspasti-bhojanah
anavrstya vinanksyanti
durbhiksa-kara-piditah

SB 12.2.9

Harassed by famine and excessive taxes, people will resort to eating leaves, roots, flesh, wild honey, fruits, flowers, and seeds. Struck by drought, they will become completely ruined.

Verse 10

sita-vatatapa-pravrd-
himair anyonyatah prajah
ksut-trdbhyam vyadhibhis caiva
santapsyante ca cintaya

SB 12.2.10

The citizens will suffer greatly from cold, wind, heat, rain, and snow. They will be further tormented by quarrels, hunger, thirst, disease, and severe anxiety.

Verse 11

trimsad vimsati varsani
paramayuh kalau nrnam

SB 12.2.11

The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.

Impact of Kali Yuga Symptoms (Verse 12-16)

Kali Yuga potray

ksiyamanesu dehesu
dehinam kali-dosatah
varnasramavatam dharme
naste veda-pathe nrnam

SB 12.2.12

pasanda-pracure dharme
dasyu-prayesu rajasu
cauryanrta-vrtha-himsa-
nana-vrttisu vai nrsu

SB 12.2.13

sudra-prayesu varnesu
cchaga-prayasu dhenusu
grha-prayesv asramesu
yauna-prayesu bandhusu

SB 12.2.14

anu-prayasv osadhisu
sami-prayesu sthasnusu
vidyut-prayesu meghesu
sunya-prayesu sadmasu

SB 12.2.15

ittham kalau gata-praye
janesu khara-dharmisu
dharma-tranaya sattvena
bhagavan avatarisyati

SB 12.2.16

By the time the age of Kali ends, the bodies of all creatures will be greatly reduced in size, and the religious principles of followers of varnashrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and the so-called religion will be mostly atheistic.

The kings will mostly be thieves, the occupations of men will be stealing, lying, and needless violence and all the social classes will be reduced to the lowest level of Sudras. Cows will be like goats, spiritual hermitages will be no different from mundane houses, and family ties will extend no further than the immediate bonds of marriage.

Most plants and herbs will be tiny, and all trees will appear like dwarf sami trees. Clouds will be full of lightning, homes will be devoid of piety, and all human beings will have become like asses. At that time, the Supreme Personality of Godhead will appear on the earth. Acting with the power of pure spiritual goodness, He will rescue eternal religion.

Savior of Humans in Kaliyuga

Kalki Avatar of Vishnu

When all the symptoms lead to misery and supreme evil, Lord Vishnu will incarnate as Lord Kalki in the form of the 10th avatar to save us.

Verse 17

caracara-guror visnor
isvarasyakhilatmanah
dharma-tranaya sadhunam
janma karmapanuttaye

SB 12.2.17

Lord Visnu—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and nonmoving living beings, and the Supreme Soul of all—takes birth to protect the principles of religion and to relieve His saintly devotees from the reactions of material work.

Verse 18

sambhala-grama-mukhyasya
brahmanasya mahatmanah
bhavane visnuyasasah
kalkih pradurbhavisyati

SB 12.2.18

Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmana of Shambhala village, the great soul Visnuyasa.

Verse 19 – 20

asvam asu-gam aruhya
devadattam jagat-patih
asinasadhu-damanam
astaisvarya-gunanvitah

SB 12.2.19

vicarann asuna ksaunyam
hayenapratima-dyutih
nrpa-linga-cchado dasyun
kotiso nihanisyati

SB 12.2.20

Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulence and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill the millions of those thieves who have dared dress as kings.

Verse 21

atha tesam bhavisyanti
manamsi visadani vai
vasudevanga-ragati-
punya-gandhanila-sprsam

paura-janapadanam vai
hatesv akhila-dasyusu

SB 12.2.21

After all the impostor kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Vasudeva, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure.

Verse 22

tesam praja-visargas ca
sthavisthah sambhavisyati
vasudeve bhagavati
sattva-murtau hrdi sthite

SB 12.2.22

When Lord Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appears in their hearts in His transcendental form of goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth.

Events After Kali Yuga

Four Yuga Based on Yukteshwor Giri

The Kali Yuga will finish after Lord Kalki slays Kali Purush and it marks the beginning of a new yuga – Satya.

Verse 23

yadavatirno bhagavan
kalkir dharma-patir harih
krtam bhavisyati tada
praja-sutis ca sattviki

SB 12.2.23

When the Supreme Lord has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness.

Verse 24

yada candras ca suryas ca
tatha tisya-brhaspati
eka-rasau samesyanti
bhavisyati tada krtam

SB 12.2.24

When the moon, the sun, and Brihaspati are together in the constellation Karkata, and all three enter simultaneously into the lunar mansion Pusya—at that exact moment the age of Satya, or Krta, will begin.

Verse 25

ye ’tita vartamana ye
bhavisyanti ca parthivah
te ta uddesatah prokta
vamsiyah soma-suryayoh

SB 12.2.25

Thus I have described all the kings—past, present, and future—who belong to the dynasties of the sun and the moon.

Verse 26

arabhya bhavato janma
yavan nandabhisecanam
etad varsa-sahasram tu
satam pancadasottaram

SB 12.2.26

From your birth up to the coronation of King Nanda, 1,150 years will pass.

Verse 27-28

saptarsinam tu yau purvau
drsyete uditau divi
tayos tu madhye naksatram
drsyate yat samam nisi

SB 12.2.27

tenaiva rsayo yuktas
tisthanty abda-satam nrnam
te tvadiye dvijah kala
adhuna casrita maghah

SB 12.2.28

Of the seven stars forming the constellation of the seven sages, Pulaha and Kratu are the first to rise in the night sky. If a line running north and south were drawn through their midpoint, whichever of the lunar mansions this line passes through is said to be the ruling asterism of the constellation for that time.

The Seven Sages will remain connected with that particular lunar mansion for one hundred human years. Currently, during your lifetime, they are situated in the nakshatra called Magha.

Verse 29

visnor bhagavato bhanuh
krsnakhyo ’sau divam gatah
tadavisat kalir lokam
pape yad ramate janah

SB 12.2.29

The Supreme Lord, Visnu, is brilliant like the sun and is known as Krsna. When He returned to the spiritual sky, Kali entered this world, and people then began to take pleasure in sinful activities.

Verse 30

yavat sa pada-padmabhyam
sprsan aste rama-patih
tavat kalir vai prthivim
parakrantum na casakat

SB 12.2.30

As long as Lord Sri Krishna, the husband of the goddess of fortune, touched the earth with His lotus feet, Kali was powerless to subdue this planet.

Verse 31

yada devarsayah sapta
maghasu vicaranti hi
tada pravrttas tu kalir
dvadasabda-satatmakah

SB 12.2.31

When the constellation of the seven sages passes through the lunar mansion Magha, the age of Kali begins. It comprises twelve hundred years of the demigods.

Verse 32

yada maghabhyo yasyanti
purvasadham maharsayah
tada nandat prabhrty esa
kalir vrddhim gamisyati

SB 12.2.32

When the great sages of the Saptarsi constellation pass from Magha to Purvasadha, Kali will have full strength, beginning with King Nanda and his dynasty.

Verse 33

yasmin krsno divam yatas
tasminn eva tadahani
pratipannam kali-yugam
iti prahuh pura-vidah

SB 12.2.33

Those who scientifically understand the past declare that on the day that Lord Sri Krishna departed for the spiritual world, the influence of the age of Kali began.

Verse 34

divyabdanam sahasrante
caturthe tu punah krtam
bhavisyati tada nrnam
mana atma-prakasakam

SB 12.2.34

After the one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, the Satya-yuga will manifest again. At that time the minds of all men will become self-effulgent.

Verse 35

ity esa manavo vamso
yatha sankhyayate bhuvi
tatha vit-sudra-vipranam
tas ta jneya yuge yuge

SB 12.2.35

Thus I have described the royal dynasty of Manu as it is known on this earth. One can similarly study the history of the Vaisyas, sudras, and Brahmanas living in various ages.

Verse 36

etesam nama-linganam
purusanam mahatmanam
katha-matravasistanam
kirtir eva sthita bhuvi

SB 12.2.36

These personalities, who were great souls, are now known only by their names. They exist only in accounts from the past, and only their fame remains on the earth.

Verse 37

devapih santanor bhrata
marus ceksvaku-vamsa-jah
kalapa-grama asate
maha-yoga-balanvitau

SB 12.2.37

Devapi, the brother of Maharaja Santanu, and Maru, the descendant of Iksvaku, both possess great mystic strength and live even now in the village of Kalapa.

Verse 38

tav ihaitya kaler ante
vasudevanusiksitau
varnasrama-yutam dharmam
purva-vat prathayisyatah

SB 12.2.38

At the end of the age of Kali, these two kings, having received instruction directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vasudeva, will return to human society and reestablish the eternal religion of man, characterized by the divisions of varna and ashrama, just as it was before.

Verse 39

krtam treta dvaparam ca
kalis ceti catur-yugam
anena krama-yogena
bhuvi pranisu vartate

SB 12.2.39

The cycle of four ages—Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali—continues perpetually among living beings on this earth, repeating the same general sequence of events.

Verse 40

rajann ete maya prokta
nara-devas tathapare
bhumau mamatvam krtvante
hitvemam nidhanam gatah

SB 12.2.40

My dear King Parikshit, all these kings I have described, as well as all other human beings, come to this earth and stake their claims, but ultimately they all must give up this world and meet their destruction.

Verse 41

krmi-vid-bhasma-samjnante
raja-namno ’pi yasya ca
bhuta-dhruk tat-krte svartham
kim veda nirayo yatah

SB 12.2.41

Even though a person’s body may now have the designation “king,” in the end, its name will be “worms,” “stool” or “ashes.” What can a person who injures other living beings for the sake of his body know about his own self-interest since his activities are simply leading him to hell?

Verse 42

katham seyam akhanda bhuh
purvair me purusair dhrta
mat-putrasya ca pautrasya
mat-purva vamsa-jasya va

SB 12.2.42

[The materialistic king thinks:] “This unbounded earth was held by my predecessors and is now under my sovereignty. How can I arrange for it to remain in the hands of my sons, grandsons, and other descendants?”

Verse 43

tejo-’b-anna-mayam kayam
grhitvatmatayabudhah
mahim mamataya cobhau
hitvante ’darsanam gatah

SB 12.2.43

Although the foolish accept the body made of earth, water, and fire as “me” and this earth as “mine,” in every case, they have ultimately abandoned both their body and the earth and passed away into oblivion.

Verse 44

ye ye bhu-patayo rajan
bhunjate bhuvam ojasa
kalena te krtah sarve
katha-matrah kathasu ca

SB 12.2.44

My dear King Parikshit, all these kings who tried to enjoy the earth by their strength were reduced by the force of time to nothing more than historical accounts.


Thus the end of the Twelfth Canto, the Second Chapter of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled “The Symptoms of Kali-yuga.”