The Himalayas stood serene and immovable. The world below them basked in glory. “It won’t be like this much longer,” Lomasa Rsi warned them. “It’s coming soon, the KaliYuga. The Celestials will disappear from our vision. In the KaliYuga, the splendour of the earth will shrivel up. Virtue will be abandoned. Sickness will ravage the land. Deformities will be commonplace. The earth will shake from calamities. No family will be spared.
“The so-called kshatriyas will not protect the citizens, but rather exploit them for their own gain. Others will assume similar habits. Hypocrisy will rule the day. Uncultured men will put on fancy attire and procure wealth by nefarious means. Indeed, decisions will be based solely on how much wealth can be made, and wealth alone will determine a favourable outcome in a court of law. People will be overwhelmed by anxieties and will be forced to work hard like asses simply to maintain themselves. Any sane person will want to flee to the mountains. The people of the KaliYuga will forget that one earns happiness by making others happy. It is especially our duty to please and protect the cows, the children, the women, the elderly and the brahmins.” [MahaBharat / written down 5000 yrs. ago]
‘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.’ [Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.8]
śāka-mūlāmiṣa-kṣaudra- phala-puṣpāṣṭi-bhojanāḥ anāvṛṣṭyā vinańkṣyanti durbhikṣa-kara-pīḍitāḥ
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. [Srimad Bhagavatam 12.2.9]
dasyutkrishta janapada vedah pashanda-dushitah rajanas ca praja-bhakshah sisnodara-para dvijah
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.
[Srimad Bhagavatam 12.3.32 / also written 5000 yrs. ago]
The Linga Purana says that in Kali-yuga, young women freely abandon their virginity. Women, children, and cows – always protected in an enlightened society – are abused and killed during the iron age. Thieves are numerous and rapes are frequent. There are many beggars, and widespread unemployment. Merchants operate corrupt businesses. Diseases, rates, and foul substances plague the populace. Water is lacking, fruits are scarce. Everyone uses vulgar language.
The men of Kali-yuga seek only money. Only the richest have power. People without money are their slaves. The leaders of the state no longer protect the people, but plunder the citizenry through excessive taxation. Farmers abandon living close to nature. They become unskilled laborers in congested cities. Many dress in rags, or are unemployed, and sleep on the streets. Through the fault of the government, infant mortality rates are high. False gods are worshiped in false ashrams, in which pilgrimages, penances, charities and austerities are all concocted.
People in this age eat their food without washing beforehand. Monks break their vows of celibacy. Cows are kept alive only for their milk. Water is scarce. Many people watch the skies, praying for rain. No rain comes. The fields become barren. Suffering from famine and poverty, many attempt to migrate to countries where food is more readily available. People are without joy and pleasure. Many commit suicide. Men of small intelligence are influenced by atheistic doctrines. Family, clan and caste are all meaningless. Men are without virtues, purity or decency. (Visnu Purana 6.1).