Prediction 1
sri-suka uvaca
tatas canu-dinam dharmah
satyam saucam ksama daya
kalena balina rajan
nanksyaty ayur balam smrtih
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.1
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.
Prediction 2
vittam eva kalau nṝṇāḿ
janmācāra-guṇodayaḥ
dharma-nyāya-vyavasthāyāḿ
kāraṇaḿ balam eva hi
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.2
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.
Prediction 3
dāmpatye ‘bhirucir hetur
māyaiva vyāvahārike
strītve puḿstve ca hi ratir
vipratve sūtram eva hi
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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.
Prediction 4
lińgaḿ evāśrama-khyātāv
anyonyāpatti-kāraṇam
avṛttyā nyāya-daurbalyaḿ
pāṇḍitye cāpalaḿ vacaḥ
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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 do not earn a good living. And one who is very clever at juggling words will be considered a learned scholar.
Prediction 5
anāḍhyataivāsādhutve
sādhutve dambha eva tu
svīkāra eva codvāhe
snānam eva prasādhanam
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.5
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.
Prediction 6
dūre vāry-ayanaḿ tīrthaḿ
lāvaṇyaḿ keśa-dhāraṇam
udaraḿ-bharatā svārthaḥ
satyatve dhārṣṭyam eva hi
dākṣyaḿ kuṭumba-bharaṇaḿ
yaśo ‘rthe dharma-sevanam
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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.
Prediction 7
evaḿ prajābhir duṣṭābhir
ākīrṇe kṣiti-maṇḍale
brahma-viṭ-kṣatra-śūdrāṇāḿ
yo balī bhavitā nṛpaḥ
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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.
Prediction 8
śāka-mūlāmiṣa-kṣaudra-
phala-puṣpāṣṭi-bhojanāḥ
anāvṛṣṭyā vinańkṣyanti
durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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.
Prediction 9
śīta-vātātapa-prāvṛḍ-
himair anyonyataḥ prajāḥ
kṣut-tṛḍbhyāḿ vyādhibhiś caiva
santapsyante ca cintayā
– Srimad Bhagavatam 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.
Prediction 10
triḿśad viḿśati varṣāṇi
paramāyuḥ kalau nṛṇām
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.11
The maximum duration of life for human beings in Kali Yuga will become 50 years.
Prediction 11
na rakshishyanti manujah
sthavirau pitarav api
Men will no longer protect their elderly parents.
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.42
Prediction 12
kalau kakinike ‘py arthe
vigrihya tyakta-sauhridah
tyakshyanti ca priyan pranan
hanishyanti svakan api
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.41
In Kali-yuga men will develop a hatred for each other even over a few coins. Giving up all friendly relations, they will be ready to lose their own lives and kill even their own relatives.
Prediction 13
sudrah pratigrahishyanti
tapo-veshopajivinah
dharmam vakshyanty adharma-jna
adhiruhyottamasanam
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.38
Uncultured men will accept charity on behalf of the Lord and will earn their livelihood by making a show of austerity and wearing a mendicant’s dress. Those who know nothing about religion will mount a high seat and presume to speak on religious principles.
Prediction 14
patim tyakshyanti nirdravyam
bhritya apy akhilottamam
bhrityam vipannam patayah
kaulam gas capayasvinih
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.36
Servants will abandon a master who has lost his wealth, even if that master is a saintly person of exemplary character. Masters will abandon an incapacitated servant, even if that servant has been in the family for generations. Cows will be abandoned or killed when they stop giving milk.
Prediction 15
dasyutkrishta janapada
vedah pashanda-dushitah
rajanas ca praja-bhakshah
sisnodara-para dvijah
– Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.32
Cities will be dominated by thieves, the Vedas will be contaminated by speculative interpretations of atheists, political leaders will virtually consume the citizens, and the so-called priests and intellectuals will be devotees of their bellies and genitals.
Editor’s note: Not all predictions are yet fully manifest, since Kali yuga is still in progress.
The devotional chanting of the Lord’s holy name is our only hope 🙂 But even in Kali Yuga, pure souls can create their own little Satya Yuga. “For one who has Lord Govinda in his heart, Satya-yuga becomes manifest in the midst of Kali, and conversely even Satya-yuga becomes Kali-yuga for one who does not have the infallible Lord in his heart.”
May the Lord shower all his blessings on you.