Life in Kali Yuga – Stories from Aranyaka Parva
After the story of Manu and the fish, Yudhistira asked Rishi Markandeya to provide insights into the lives during the yugas, especially kali yuga. The rishi started with a small prayer to Narayana and shared the details.
Krita yuga began after the universe’s destruction and lasted four thousand years. A sandhya period of four hundred years preceded the yuga, and another sandhya of three hundred years succeeded it. Then, the dwapara yuga had two thousand years with a sandhya of two hundred years each before and after. Next was kali yuga of a thousand years with a sandhya of a hundred years each before and after. At the end of kali yuga, krita yuga would start again. This total period of twelve thousand years is a yuga, and one thousand such cycles form one day of Brahma. When the universe retreats into the Brahma day, it’s considered the beginning of destruction.
Towards the end of the yuga, all men would resort to speaking falsehood. They used representatives for sacrifices and donations. The roles and responsibilities of the varnas got reversed. The Brahmins didn’t study or perform austerities. Decay started everywhere, and things got perverse. Rulers used evil and falsehood as their means to control the citizens. The men would not use their dharma to make a living. They would have weak bodies with low energy and less valor. The country would be empty and infested with predators.
The trees no longer produce consumable fruits or fragrant flowers. Cows would give less milk. People would kill each other for little things, and become addicted to drinking and gambling. Indra would no longer shower rain at the right time. The crops would suffer. People would resort to adharmic means to achieve their goals and break the trust of others. They would become old at sixteen years and have a short lifespan. At the end of the yuga, there would be a drought for many years. Everything would become weak and useless. People would die in large numbers. The sun would blaze stronger than ever, and the water bodies would dry up. Fire would burn down whatever it can. Weird-shaped clouds would fill the sky and cause extensive rains, leading to floods. The mountains would splinter and everything would be destroyed. Nothing would be visible except the floodwater.
Rishi Markandeya said that at this point of chaos, he wandered around aimlessly and saw a tall banyan tree with a child seated on it. The child’s face was like that of a lotus or a moon. His eyes were large and beautiful. His complex was like a flax flower (blue) and he had a srivatsa mark on the chest. The child spoke to the rishi and asked him to rest since he was exhausted. When asked where he should rest, the child opened his mouth and asked the rishi to step inside. He did so and saw the entire universe inside the child and roamed everywhere.
Finally, the rishi prayed to Narayana and was let out of the mouth and back to the banyan tree. Rishi Markandeya worshipped him. The child answered the questions he asked and assured the rishi that evolution would begin again soon.