The present age of Kali-yuga is known as the age of deterioration, quarrel and hypocrisy. Srimad Bhagavatam has predicted the miserable nature of Kali-yuga in the following verses:
tatas canu-dinam dharmah satyam saucam ksama daya
kalena balina rajan nanksyaty ayur balam smrtih
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.
~Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1
vittam eva kalau nrnam
dharma-nyaya-vyavasthayam karanam balam eva hi
In Kali Yuga, wealth alone will be considered the sign of a man’s good birth, proper behaviour and fine qualities. And law and justice will be applied only on the basis of one’s power.
~ SB 12.2.2
dampatye ‘bhirucir hetur mayaiva vyavaharike
stritve pumstve ca hi ratir vipratve sutram eva hi
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.
~ SB 12.2.3
lingam evasrama-khyatav anyonyapatti-karanam
avrttya nyaya-daurbalyam panditye capalam vacah
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 dos not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
~ SB 12.2.4
Anadhyataivasadhutve sadhutve dambha eva tu
svikara eva codvahe snanam eva prasadhanam
A person will be judged unholy if he does not have money, and hypocrisy will be accepted as 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.
~ SB 12.2.5
dure vary-ayanam tirtham lavanyam kesa-dharanam
udaram-bharata svarthah satyatve dharstyam eva hi
daksyam kutumba-bharanam yaso ’rthe dharma-sevanam
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.
~ SB 12.2.6
evam prajabhir dustabhir akirne ksiti-mandale
brahma-vit-ksatra-sudranam yo bali bhavita nrpah
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.
~ SB 12.2.7
praja hi lubdhai rajanyair nirghrnair dasyu-dharmabhih
acchinna-dara-dravina yasyanti giri-kananam
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.
~ SB 12.2.8
saka-mulamisa-ksaudra-phala-puspasti-bhojanah
anavrstya vinanksyanti durbhiksa-kara-piditah
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.
~ SB 12.2.9
sita-vatatapa-pravrd-himair anyonyatah prajah
ksut-trdbhyam vyadhibhis caiva santapsyante ca cintaya
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.
~ SB 12.2.10
trimsad vimsati varsani paramayuh kalau nrnam
The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali-yuga will become fifty years.
~ SB 12.2.11
ksiyamanesu dehesu dehinam kali-dosatah
varnasramavatam dharma naste veda-pathe nrnam
pasanda-pracure dharma dasyu-prayesu rajasu
cauryanrta-vrtha-himsa-nana-vrttisu vai nrsu
sudra-prayesu varnesu cchaga-prayasu dhenusu
grha-prayesv asramesu yauna-prayesu bandhusu
anu-prayasv osadhisu sami-prayesu sthasnusu
vidyut-prayesu meghesu sunya-prayesu sadmasu
ittham kalau gata-praye janesu khara-dharmisu
dharma-tranaya sattvena bhagavan avatarisyati
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 varnasrama will be ruined. The path of the Vedas will be completely forgotten in human society, and 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.
~ SB 12.2.16
aracara-guror visnor isvarasyakhilatmanah
dharma-tranaya sadhunam janma karmapanuttaye
Lord Visnu-the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the spiritual master of all moving and non moving 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.
~ SB 12.2.17
sambhala-grama-mukhyasya brahmanasya mahatmanah
bhavane visnuyasasah kalkih pradurbhavisyati
Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent Brahmana of Sambhala village, the great soul Visnuyasa.
~ SB 12.2.18
asvam asu-gam aruhya devadattam jagat-patih
asinasadhu-damanam astaisvarya-gunanvitah
vicarann asuna ksaunyam hayenapratima-dyutih
nrpa-linga-cchado dasyun kotiso nihanisyati
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 opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.
~ SB 12.2.19-20
atha tesam bhavisyanti manamsi visadani vai
vasudevanga-ragati- punya-gandhanila-sprsam
paura-janapadanam vai hatesv akhila-dasyusu
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.
~ SB 12.2.21
tesam praja-visargas ca sthavisthah sambhavisyati
vasudeve bhagavati sattva-murtau hrdi sthite
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.
~ SB 12.2.22
kaler dosa-nidhe rajann
asti hy eko mahan gunah
kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta-sangah param vrajet
krte yad dhyayato visnum tretayam yajato makhaih
dvapare paricaryayam kalau tad dhari-kirtanat
The most important factor in this Age of Kali, which is an ocean of faults, is that one can be free from all contamination and become eligible to enter the kingdom of God simply by chanting the holy names. The self-realization that was achieved in the Satya millennium by meditation, in the Treta millennium by the performance of different sacrifices, and in the Dvapara millennium by worship of Lord Krsna can be achieved in the Age of Kali simply by chanting the holy names.
~ Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.51-2
