Mahabharata Vol. 3 (Penguin Translated Texts) (41 page)

‘“‘I create gods, humans, gandharvas, serpents, rakshasas and mobile and immobile objects. Then I destroy them with my maya. When the time arrives for acting, I think again about a body and create myself. Assuming a human form, I ensure that the boundaries
are maintained. My complexion is white in krita yuga, yellow in treta yuga and red now in dvapara. It is black in kali yuga. At that time, adharma accounts for three-fourths.
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When that period of destruction arrives, I assume the terrible form of time and myself destroy the three worlds, with their mobile and immobile objects. I am the one with three strides.
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I am the soul of the universe. I bring happiness to all the worlds. I am the lord. I go everywhere. I am Hrishikesha, whose stride is expansive. O brahmana! I am the one who moves the wheel of time. I am without form. I am the one who pacifies all beings. I am the endeavour behind the tasks of all the worlds. O supreme among sages! Thus my soul pervades all beings. O Indra among brahmanas! But no one knows me. O brahmana! O unblemished one! Whatever pain you have encountered while inside me, all of that is for your happiness and welfare. O supreme among sages! Whatever you have seen of the worlds, mobile and immobile, all of those have been ordained by my soul. The grandfather of all the worlds
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is half of my body. I am the one known as Narayana. I hold the conch shell, the chakra and the mace. O brahmana rishi! Throughout the cycle of one thousand yugas, I, the soul of the universe and the grandfather of all the worlds, sleep. O supreme among sages! Throughout that period, I am established here, not a child but in the form of a child, until Brahma wakes up. O brahmana! It is I who granted you boons in the form of Brahma. You are worshipped by masses of brahmana rishis and I am satisfied with you. On seeing everything, mobile and immobile, flooded in a single ocean, you were afflicted. Knowing this, I showed you the universe when you entered my body. On seeing all the worlds there, you were astounded and did not understand. O brahmana rishi! Therefore, I brought you out through my mouth and told you everything about myself, incomprehensible to gods and demons. O brahmana rishi! Until the immensely ascetic and illustrious Brahma awakes,
comfortably rest and roam here. O supreme among brahmanas! When the grandfather of all the worlds awakes, as if they are but one, I will create from my body the sky, the earth, light, wind and water and whatever else exists in the world, mobile and immobile.’”

‘Markandeya said, “O son!
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After he had spoken thus, the extremely wonderful god disappeared. I then saw the creation of subjects, varied and manifold. O king! O best of the Bharata lineage! O best among all those who uphold dharma! At the end of the yuga, I witnessed all these wonderful things. O tiger among men! The lotus-eyed god whom I saw in earlier times, has now become your relative Janardana. O Kounteya! Because of the boon he bestowed on me, my memory has not failed me. I have a long life and I can die when I wish. He is the lord Krishna Varshneya, the ancient being. He is the mighty-armed Hari, who cannot be thought of, and who seems to be sporting. He is Satvata,
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the creator and the special creator and the destroyer. He is Govinda with the srivatsa mark, the universal lord of all Prajapatis. On seeing this tiger of the Vrishni lineage, the original being Vishnu who has no birth and who is dressed in yellow garb, my memory has returned to me. Madhava is the father and mother of all beings. O bulls among the Kourava lineage! Seek refuge with the one who grants protection.”’

Vaishampayana said, ‘On hearing these words, the Parthas and the twins, bulls among men, together with Krishna Droupadi, bowed in obeisance before Janardana. O tiger among men! He comforted them in the sweetest of tones. Having consoled them, he honoured them in the appropriate fashion, since they were worthy of honour. Yudhishthira Kounteya then again questioned the great
sage Markandeya about the kingdoms that would flourish on this earth. “O foremost among eloquent ones! O sage! O Bhargava! We have heard from you about the extraordinary destruction and creation that occurs at the end of a yuga. I am extremely curious to learn about what happens in kali yuga. If all dharma is confounded then, what will remain? What energy will be left to men? What will they eat and how will they sport? How long will they live? What garments will they wear at the end of a yuga? After what period of time, will krita yuga arise again? O sage! Tell these varied accounts in detail.” At these words, the supreme among sages began to speak again. The great rishi wished to please the tiger among the Vrishnis and the Pandavas.

‘Markandeya said, “O bull among the Bharata lineage! Listen to me. I will tell you about the future of all the worlds when the time of evil arrives. In the time of krita with its four feet,
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everything was devoid of deceit and obstructions. In those earlier times, dharma was established among humans, like a bull. In treta, adharma took away one leg, but it was still established on three feet. In dvapara, it is said that dharma and its opposite are mixed half and half. But at that time,
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three-quarters of adharma will be established in the world. Only one quarter of dharma will be established among men. O Pandava! Learn from me that life with valour, intelligence, strength and power will shrink among men, following the change in yuga. O Yudhishthira! Kings, brahmanas, vaishyas and shudras will only pretend to practise dharma. Men will be deceitful about dharma. Men in the world will be vain about their learning and will abbreviate the truth. Because truth will be destroyed, lifespans will be shortened. Because of this shortening in life, it will not be possible to acquire much learning. Uninstructed and lacking in knowledge, ignorance will make them a prey to greed. Men will be addicted to avarice, anger and desire, and will be stupid. They will bear enmity and will wish to kill each other. Brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas will
consort with each other and become the equal of shudras, devoid of austerities and truth. There is no doubt that the lowest will rise to the middle and the middle will sink to the bottom. At the end of the yuga, this will be the state of the world. Garments made of hemp will be considered to be the best. Grain eaten by the poor will be considered to be the best harvest. At the destruction of the yuga, men will consider their wives to be their enemies. They will live on fish and will milk goats and sheep. At the destruction of the yuga, men will destroy cows. Men will be against each other and will commit violence against each other. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, they will not meditate and will be atheists. They will dig up the banks of rivers with spades and sow herbs there. But at the time of the destruction of the yuga, these will yield little fruit. Men who have always been firm in their vows at funeral ceremonies and sacrifices to the gods, will become addicted to greed and will thrive on each other. The father will enjoy what belongs to the son and the son will enjoy what belongs to the father. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, rules about what should be eaten will be transgressed. Brahmanas will not observe vows and will criticize the Vedas. Deluded by their love for debate, they will not observe worship and sacrifices. Men will till lowlands and yoke milch cows. Men will employ calves that are one year old as beasts of burden. Though sons will kill their fathers and fathers will kill their sons, this will not be regarded as reprehensible. They will be without anxiety and will take great pride in this. The entire world will be overtaken by mleccha conduct. There will be no rites and sacrifices. There will be unhappiness everywhere and no festivities. Generally, men will rob the possessions of others, even of those who are weak and of their relatives and widows. There will be little valour and strength. There will be vanity. There will be addiction to avarice and delusion. Men will happily accept gifts given by the evil. They will accept them, themselves addicted to evil conduct. O Kounteya! Driven by evil intelligence, kings will hire assassins. The ignorant ones, thinking themselves to be wise, will seek to kill each other. When the destruction of the yuga is near, the kshatriyas will be the thorns of the world. They will not protect others. They will be greedy, insolent with
pride and vanity. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, they will find delight in only resorting to chastisement. They will attack righteous ones and enjoy their wives and possessions. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They will feel no pity, even when there are cries of grief. No one will ask for a maiden. No one will give a maiden away. When the end of the yuga is near, women will choose themselves. When the end of the yuga has arrived, kings, discontented with what they possess and deluded in their intelligence, will use every means possible to steal the property of others. There is no doubt that the entire world will be overtaken by mleccha ways. When the destruction of the yuga has arrived, one hand will steal from the other. In this world, men who are vain about their learning, will abbreviate the truth. The old will think like children and the children will have the intelligence of the old. Cowards will take pride in their bravery and the brave will be depressed as cowards. When the end of the yuga has arrived, they will not trust others. Overcome by greed and delusion, everyone will eat the same kind of food. Adharma will extend and there will be no dharma. O lord of men! There will be no brahmanas, kshatriyas and vaishyas left. At the time of destruction of the yuga, the world will have only one varna. Fathers will not pardon their sons, nor sons their fathers. Wives will not tend to their husbands. When the end of the yuga has arrived, men will seek out cities and regions where barley and wheat are eaten. O lord of the earth! Men and women will eat whatever they wish. When the end of the yuga has arrived, they will not tolerate each other. O Yudhishthira! The entire world will be overtaken by mlecchas. Men will no longer satisfy their ancestors through funeral ceremonies. No one will listen to another. Nor will anyone be a preceptor. O lord of men! The entire world will be enveloped in terrible darkness. The greatest lifespan will be for sixteen years. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, this is when the breath of life will be released. Girls who are five or six years old will give birth. Boys who are seven or eight years old will beget children. O king! O tiger among kings! At that time, at the end of the yuga, women will not find satisfaction with their husbands, nor men with wives. There will be few possessions. Linga will be in
vain.
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There will be violence. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, no one will give to another. The countryside will be full of towers. The crossroads will be full of jackals. At the time of the destruction of the yuga, women will be full of hair. There will be cruel mleccha conduct everywhere. People will eat everything. They will be terrible in all their deeds. There is no doubt that men will be like this, when time comes to an end. At the time of buying and selling, everyone will steal everything from each other. O best of the Bharata lineage! At the end of the yuga, they will be driven by the love for riches. Though ignorant and without knowledge, they will perform rituals. When the end of the yuga has arrived, they will act as they wish. When the end of the yuga has arrived, all men will naturally be the performers of cruel deeds and will not trust each other. They will destroy trees and groves without a thought. There is no doubt that all beings in the world will find it difficult to ensure a living. O king! Overcome by avarice, they will roam the earth. They will become brahmanas and will enjoy the property of brahmanas. Oppressed by shudras,
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brahmanas will be frightened and will lament. They will wander all over the earth, without anyone to protect them. Men will be cruel and terrible and will kill others. They will cause violence to beings. When men act in this fashion, the yuga will come to an end. O extender of the Kuru lineage! O king! Brahmanas, the supreme among brahmanas, will be oppressed by bandits and will swiftly flee in fear like crows, seeking refuge in rivers, mountains and uneven terrain, oppressed by the burden of taxes. O protector of the earth! At the time of the destruction of the yuga, they will discard all patience. They will perform deeds that should not be performed and will serve the shudras. The shudras will explain dharma to brahmanas and their servants and they will listen to these explanations and proofs. Everything in the world will be utterly upside down. Discarding the
gods, collections of bones
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will be worshipped. At the end of the yuga, shudras will no longer serve brahmanas, in the hermitages of maharshis and in the residences of brahmanas. In places meant for the gods, in sanctuaries and in the abodes of the serpents, the earth will not be marked by abodes of the gods, but by collections of bones. When the yuga decays, these are the signs of the destruction of the yuga. Men will always become terrible, addicted to meat and liquor and weak in dharma. That is the time for the decay of the yuga. O king! At that time, flowers will be created in flowers and fruit in fruit. O great king! The yuga will decay
t that time. When the rains shower down at the wrong time, the yuga will be over. The rituals of men will not follow the right order. Shudras
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will quarrel with brahmanas. The earth will soon be infested with mleccha people. Overcome by the burden of taxation, brahmanas will flee in the ten directions. Without distinction, men in all countries will be oppressed by drought. They will resort to hermitages and live on fruits and roots. When the world is so turbulent, there will be no limits. Disciples will not heed their instructions, but will act in an unpleasant way. O sons! Preceptors will then have to live without any riches. Friends, kin and relatives will act only out of love for wealth. When the end of the yuga arrives, all beings will suffer from want. All the directions will blaze. All the constellations will move. All the stars will be adverse, all the winds will be turbulent. There will be many showers of meteors, indicative of great fear. The sun will torment with six others. There will be a thunderous noise and conflagrations in all the directions. From rising to setting, the sun will be obscured by the headless torso.
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The illustrious one with the thousand eyes
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will not rain at the right time. At the time of the end of the yuga, crops will not grow. Women will be harsh and cruel in speech and will love to cry. Women will
not follow the words of their husbands. When the destruction of the yuga arrives, sons will kill their fathers and mothers. Women will kill their husbands and depend on their sons. O great king! Rahu will envelope the sun at the wrong time. When the end of the yuga arrives, fires will blaze up in all the directions. Travellers will ask for food and drink, but not receive it. They will not find shelter and will be thrown out. They will have to sleep on the road. When the end of the yuga is near, crows of ill omen, serpents, vultures, animals and birds will screech harshly. When the end of the yuga has arrived, men will be abandoned by their friends and relatives, kin and followers. When the end of the yuga has arrived, they will gradually seek refuge in other countries, regions, settlements and cities, with extremely terrible words of ‘Alas, father!’ and ‘Alas, son!’. In extreme affliction, men will roam around. Then, when the terrible time of the destruction of the yuga is over, beings gradually come into existence, beginning with brahmanas. When that period is over, the world begins to prosper again. The gods again become favourable, as they desire. When the sun, the moon, Tishya
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and Jupiter are in conjunction in the same sign of the zodiac, then krita begins again. Rains shower at the right time and the stars become favourable. The planets revolve in a propitious way. Safety, abundance of food, health and recovery from disease are prevalent. Driven by time, a brahmana named Kalki Vishnuyasha will be born.
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He will have great energy, great intelligence and valour. He will be born in a village named Sambhala, in an auspicious brahmana household. As soon as he thinks about it, all means of transport, weapons, warriors, missiles and armour will manifest themselves before him. He will be a king and emperor, triumphing on the basis of dharma. He will restore order in this turbulent world. When arisen, that radiant brahmana, immensely intelligent, will bring an end to the destruction by destroying everything. He will initiate the yuga.
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Wherever he goes, he will be surrounded by brahmanas. That brahmana will then uproot the mean masses of mlecchas, wherever they may happen to be.”’