Chapter
1:
The
Degraded Dynasties and Corrupt Nature of the Rulers of
Kali-yuga
(12) The brahmin thus
will put Candragupta on the throne of whose son
Vârîsâra then As'okavardhana will
follow.
(40) The people in the
cities will, with these rulers their character, behavior
and speech, pained by the 'kings' and by each other, find
ruination [in wars, economic collapse and natural
disaster, see also kles'a, Kali-yuga and B.G. 16:
6-12].
Chapter
2:
Despair
and Hope in the Age of Quarrel
(12-16) When the bodies
of all living entities by the contamination of Kali-yuga
are in decay; the dutifulness of the members of all
status-orientations is lost; with the vedic path there
for all men changed into an atheistic conception of duty;
when the kings predominantly act as thieves and men in
their various occupations in truth are all lying bandits
of meaningless slaughter; when the classes are
predominantly [profit-]labor-minded; the cows are
no better than goats; the hermitages are just like
materialistic homes; family ties extend no further than
the bonds of marriage; when the plants and herbs have
reduced in size and all trees are like s'ami-trees, when
there is always lightning in the clouds and the homes are
ruled by loneliness [voidism, impersonalism, see
pranâti]; when Kali-yuga is running at its end
and the people have become like asses, will the Supreme
Lord descend in the mode of pure goodness to protect the
dharma.
Chapter
3:
The
Song of Mother Earth and Kali-yuga its
Remedy
(6) O son of the Kurus
[she said:] 'Unintelligently they in that
struggle try to conquer me [for their eternal
'fame'] while the Manus and their sons as well, all
had to give it up, leaving the way they came [viz.
helplessly].
(34) Short statured and
voracious having many children [will the women]
loose their timidity and constantly speaking harshly with
great audacity deceitfully be like thieves.
(47) Just as the
discoloration found in gold due to other metals is undone
by fire are the same way the impurities of mind of the
yogîs undone by Lord Vishnu entering [stepping
forward in] the soul.
Chapter
4:
Pralaya:
The Four Types of Annihilation
(11) Then will a
terrible wind blowing for more than a hundred years bring
annihilation covering the sky gray with dust.
(40) For the person
distressed by the fire of the various forms of misery who
desires to cross over the hard to overcome ocean of
material existence, there is no other boat apart from the
rendering of service to the personal taste for the
narrations of the pastimes of the Fortunate One, the
Supreme Personality.
Chapter
5:
Final
Instructions to Mahârâja
Parîkchit
(8) The soul, that is
not there as the gross [deha] or the subtle
[linga], is self-luminous, and thus, as
unchanging as the sky, the basis
[âdhâra] eternal and beyond
comparison.
Chapter
6:
Mahârâja
Parîkchit Liberated and the Veda Handed Down in
Four
(12) Satisfying him, an
expert in countering poison, with valuables, he made him
return whereupon he, who could assume any form he wished,
disguised himself as a brahmin and bit the king.
(27)Therefore o King
should this sacrifice performed with the intent to harm
the serpents be stopped; with the innocent ones burned
has indeed by persons the bid to be suffered' [see
also the Mahâbhârata 1.43]."
(39) From that came the
threefold omkâra into being which, unseen of
influence manifesting itself, is the representation of
the Supreme Lord [bhagavân], of the
Absolute Truth [brahman] and of the Supersoul
[paramâtma, see also 1.2: 11, B.G. 7:
8].
(74) With the hundreds
of yajur-mantras contrived the mighty sage fifteen
branches and accepted by the disciples of Kanvâ and
Mâdhyandina are they, produced from the manes of
the horse, thus known as Vâjaseneyi.
Chapter
7:
The
Devotion in Samhitâ Branches and the Ten Topics of
the Purânas
(9-10) The creation
[of this universe, sarga], the subsequent
creation [of different worlds and beings,
visarga], the maintenance [the sustenance, the
vritti or sthâna] and protection [the
rakshâ or poshana of the living beings], the
reigns [of the various Manus], the dynasties
[vams'as], the narrations about them
[vams'a-anucaritam], the annihilation [of
different kinds, pralaya or samsthâ], the
motivation [of individuality or hetu] and the
supreme shelter [of the Fortunate One or
apâs'raya], o brahmin, are the ten
characteristic topics of a purâna as understood by
the authorities on the matter; some state that relative
to the greater ones, the lesser purânas deal with
five [see also S'uka on this 2.10.1-7 and *].
