Yuga Dharma

Yuga Dharma, “the dharma of each age”

Time in Sanātana Dharma moves in great cycles of four yugas (ages), together called the caturyuga: Kṛta (also called Satya), Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali. Yuga dharma, also called caturyuga dharma, is the dharma (right way of living) and the form of spiritual practice that suits each age best. As the ages pass, dharma (right living and cosmic order) grows weaker, a little in each age, and the practice that works best changes with it.

The Purāṇas present the rules of dharma as suited to their setting rather than fixed for all times. The same idea appears in discussions of āhāra (diet), methods of sādhanā (spiritual practice), and the ordering of society in various texts.

Per Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa

The Uttara Kāṇḍa (the last book) of the Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa gives a short teaching on caturyuga dharma, the way the rules of dharma change from one yuga to the next. It concerns which varṇas (the four social orders) may perform tapas (intense spiritual austerity) in each age. In the Kṛta Yuga only brāhmaṇas perform tapas. In the Tretā Yuga, brāhmaṇas and kshatriyas do. In the Dvāpara Yuga, these two and the vaiśyas do. In the Kali Yuga, all four varṇas do. The account of Śambūka draws on this principle. In the Tretā Yuga, the early death of a brāhmaṇa’s child was taken as a sign that a śūdra, who was not meant to perform tapas in that age, was doing so, and that this had upset the order of the world. The teaching shows that dharma is not fixed in every detail, but changes with the cycle of the ages.

The Teaching

A brāhmaṇa came to Śrī Rāma’s court carrying his dead child and accused the king of failing in his dharma. Nārada Ṛshi then explained the principle behind it. Dharma is pictured as a bull standing on four feet, and it loses one foot in each yuga:

The Principle

This teaching holds that dharma depends on the yuga. Its particular rules are not the same for all time; they suit the abilities and conditions of each age. With each new yuga, the general strength of dharma and moral steadiness in the world grows less, as dharma loses one “foot” in each age. In step with this, the right to certain practices is opened more widely, so that more beings can be held within the life of dharma.

In the Kṛta Yuga, dharma is at its fullest. The highest practice, tapas, belongs only to those best fitted for it: the brāhmaṇas, whose whole life is built around the śāstras (sacred texts), contemplation and spiritual practice. As the yugas decline, first the kshatriyas and then the vaiśyas are included. Spiritual practice is gradually opened to more people, because the overall strength of dharma is falling and more beings need a path based on tapas.

In the Kali Yuga, the present age, all four varṇas may perform tapas. This is why a śūdra performing tapas in the Kali Yuga would not cause the kind of disturbance it caused in the Tretā Yuga.

Application in the Śambūka Account

In the Uttara Kāṇḍa, this principle explains why a śūdra performing tapas in the Tretā Yuga led to an untimely death. The order of the world in the Tretā Yuga is arranged around a particular sharing-out of roles in dharma. When Śambūka, a śūdra, performed tapas, which in that age was prescribed only for brāhmaṇas and kshatriyas, he brought a disturbance into that order. The disturbance showed itself as an untimely death, which was the sign that something was wrong.

Śrī Rāma’s slaying of Śambūka restored the order of the Tretā Yuga, and the brāhmaṇa’s child came back to life at once.

Per Mahābhārata

The Mahābhārata teaches about yuga dharma in Hanumān’s words to Bhīma and in Vyāsa’s teaching to his son Śuka.

Hanumān’s Teaching to Bhīma

The Vana Parva (Chapters 149–151) contains a detailed teaching on yuga dharma given by Hanumān to Bhīma. They meet in the kadalīkhaṇḍa (grove of banana trees) on Mount Gandhamādana. The account pays special attention to the physical and spiritual sides of each age.

Kṛta Yuga: Dharma stands on all four feet. There is no disease, no excess desire and no need for effort. Beings reach moksha (liberation) through their own natural goodness. Tapas and jñāna (spiritual knowledge) are the main means. Vishṇu appears white. There is no trade and no war. The natural order itself leads to moksha.

Tretā Yuga: Dharma stands on three feet. Yajña (fire offerings) and prescribed rites become necessary. The marks of this age are vīrya (heroism) and tapas. Vishṇu appears red. This is the yuga of Śrī Rāma, in which Hanumān himself lived. Bodies were larger and stronger then, and the huge form in which Hanumān crossed the ocean belonged to this age.

Dvāpara Yuga: Dharma stands on two feet. The one Veda is divided into four. Both ritual and knowledge are needed. Disease appears. Vishṇu appears yellow. This is the yuga of the Pāṇḍavas, the very age in which Hanumān and Bhīma are speaking.

Kali Yuga: Dharma stands on one foot. Tamas rules. Life is short, minds are weak, and the sacred tradition is broken into pieces. Vishṇu appears dark. The world holds the least divine energy it ever has. Yet some traditions hold that the nāma (divine name) has special power in Kali for exactly this reason.

Hanumān’s teaching helps Bhīma see his place in his own age. Bhīma’s task is the heroic action that suits the Dvāpara Yuga. It is not the quiet withdrawal into meditation of the Kṛta Yuga, nor the purely ritual action of the Tretā. The coming war at Kurukshetra is the dharmic action of their age.

Vyāsa’s Teaching to Śuka

The Śukānupraśna section (“Śuka’s Questions”) lies in the Mokshadharma Parva of the Śānti Parva. It opens in Chapter 231 with Vyāsa teaching his son Śuka about the order of the yugas and the conditions of each age. This sets the frame of time for the whole twenty-four-chapter dialogue on spiritual truth that follows.

It gives the four yugas, Kṛta, Tretā, Dvāpara and Kali, with lengths in the ratio 4:3:2:1, measured in divine years. It describes the full dharma of the Kṛta Yuga (dharma on four feet), the loss of one pāda of dharma in each following yuga, and the matching change in the spiritual ability of beings.

The account ties the teaching on the yugas to the teaching on moksha (liberation). It shows that in the Kali Yuga ability, life and dharma all grow weaker, and so the practice for moksha is urgent. This leads to the conclusion of the dialogue between Medhāvī and his father: śvaḥkāryam adya kurvīta, “what is to be done tomorrow, do today.”

Per Vāyu Purāṇa

Chapter 32 of the Vāyu Purāṇa, called Yuga Dharma Nirūpaṇa (“Explaining the Dharma of the Ages”), gives a full account of the four yugas. It covers how long each yuga lasts, its symbolic colour, its presiding devatā, and the kind of dharma (right way of living) that suits it.

In this Purāṇa, Śiva is Kāla, Time itself, standing above all four yugas. The chapter also mentions royal families (the Ikshvākus, Bhojas and Haihayas) and Paraśurāma, which places yuga dharma within human history. Chapters 57–58 give a second, detailed account.

Kāla Appears

Chapter 32 opens with a vision of the universe. From Oṃkāra (the sacred sound Oṃ) the Saptarshis (seven great ṛshis) come forth, and with them the devas. Then Kāla (Time) appears in a form with four faces. The four faces stand for the four yugas:

• Each face turns in a different direction and rules a different age.
• The four faces together make up the Mahā-Yuga, the full cycle of 12,000 divine years.

Kāla is clearly named as Mahādeva, Śiva himself in his form as Time. So here the teaching on yuga dharma cannot be separated from the supremacy of Śiva.

How Long Each Yuga Lasts

The text gives the lengths in divine years. These include the saṃdhyā (dawn) and saṃdhyāṃśa (dusk) periods at the start and end of each yuga. One divine year equals 360 human years.

Symbolic Colours and Divine “Tongues”

Each yuga has a symbolic colour that shows the guṇa (basic quality of nature) that rules that age:

The Purāṇa also speaks of divine “tongues”. This may mean the particular Vedic metres or kinds of hymn that are most effective in each yuga.

The order of colours is Kṛta white, Tretā yellow, Dvāpara red, Kali black, showing the guṇa of each age.

The Dharma and Pūjā of Each Yuga

The text makes a special declaration: Śiva is to be worshipped in every age. The other devatās each have their own age, but Śiva as Mahākāla (Great Time) stands above the cycle of yugas and receives pūjā in every era.

Royal Families and History

Chapter 32 also places yuga dharma within human history by naming key royal families:

• Ikshvāku Vaṃśa, the Solar Dynasty, the chief royal line of the Kṛta and Tretā Yugas.
• The Bhojas, the Bhoja or Bhojaka line.
• The Haihayas, the powerful Haihaya kshatriyas (warrior rulers) of the Dvāpara period, against whom Paraśurāma waged his campaigns.

The mention of Paraśurāma is especially important. The text notes that Paraśurāma’s twenty-one campaigns against the kshatriyas mark a particular moment in the passage from Dvāpara to Kali. This is the same point at which Nakulīśa (Lakulīśa), the twenty-eighth avatāra of Śiva in the Dvāpara ages, appeared. So dharma is being renewed on more than one level at once: at the level of the ṛshis through Paraśurāma, and at the level of yoga through Nakulīśa.

The Catur-Yuga-Ākhyāna: A Six-Part Study (Chapters 57–58)

The second account of the four-yuga cycle, the Catur-yuga-ākhyāna (“Account of the Four Ages”) in Chapters 57–58, is very detailed. It looks at each yuga in six ways:

1. Yuga: the yuga itself as a unit of time.
2. Yugabheda: the kinds or sub-divisions of the yuga.
3. Yugadharma: the main dharma of the age.
4. Yugāṃśaka: the fractional part of the yuga.
5. Saṃdhyāṃśaka: the twilight period of change at each boundary between yugas.
6. Yugasaṃdhāna: the exact saṃdhi (joining point) where one yuga meets the next.

This careful scheme lets the text describe not only the ideal type of each yuga but also what life is like for people living through the changes between ages.

Signs of Social Decline in the Kali Yuga

The Catur-yuga-ākhyāna gives an unusually detailed list of the adharma of the Kali Yuga:

• The longest human life is 100 years, and people grow shorter and shorter.
• Brāhmaṇas give up study of the Veda and yajña.
• Kshatriyas and vaiśyas slowly disappear, and śūdras become kings.
• Śūdra kings support pāshaṇḍas, those outside the Vedic path.
• People commit bhrūṇahatyā, the killing of the unborn.
• Women are without śīla (good character), vratas (sacred vows) or truthfulness.
• Tigers increase, cows decrease, and sādhus (holy people) withdraw.
• All four āśramas decay. The four pillars of brahmacarya (student life), gṛhastha (household life), vānaprastha (forest-dwelling) and sannyāsa (renunciation) crumble.
• Bhūdevī (Mother Earth) gives little fruit.
• Śūdras perform tapas, and the roles of all varṇas are turned upside down.
• Kings take from their people without protecting them, and robbery becomes accepted.

Even so, the text closes with a teaching of hope. Even in the Kali Yuga, dharma survives on its one remaining pāda (leg). And a single day of dharma in Kali, when fully lived, is more powerful than the dharma gathered over whole earlier yugas, because what is rare becomes intense.

Link to the Reckoning of Time

The account of the yugas comes right after the full kāla-māna (reckoning of time) in Chapter 57. That teaching runs from the nimesha (the blink of an eye) up to the divya-saṃvatsara (divine year). This order is deliberate: the structure of cosmic time is the frame on which the story of yuga dharma is built.

Per Nārada Purāṇa

In Chapter 41 of the Nārada Purāṇa, Sanaka Ṛshi explains to Nārada how dharma (right living and cosmic order) changes in each of these ages. For each yuga he describes how much dharma is still upheld, the varṇa (colour) that Bhagavān Vishṇu takes, and the spiritual nature of the people.

His description of the Kali Yuga, the present age, is the longest. It tells how dharma, the order of varṇa and āśrama (social roles and stages of life), and devotion to Bhagavān Vishṇu all break down. The chapter also affirms that nāma-saṅkīrtana, singing the names of Hari (Vishṇu), is the dharma set apart for the Kali age.

The Four Yugas and Their Nature

Sanaka Ṛshi teaches Nārada that in this bhūloka (the earthly world), dharma grows and shrinks with the passing of time. The four yugas are measured by how complete their dharma is. This is counted in pādas (legs or quarters) of dharma that are still working.

The four yugas together make up twelve thousand divine years (deva-varshas). Each yuga comes with its saṃdhyā (dawn period) and saṃdhyāṃśa (dusk period).

The Kṛta Yuga: The Golden Age

In the Kṛta Yuga all four pādas of dharma are fully active. Its features are:

• There is no difference between devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakshas, rākshasas or nāgas. All beings are like devas.
• Everyone has tushṭi (contentment) and pushṭi (well-being and plenty).
• There is no krayavikraya (buying and selling).
• There is no Veda-vibhāga (division of the Vedas). The whole Veda is one.
• The four varṇas, brāhmaṇa, kshatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, each live by their own svācāra (proper conduct).
• All are Nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇa (devoted to Nārāyaṇa). They give themselves to tapas (austerity) and dhyāna (meditation), are free from the faults of kāma (desire), and have śama (inner calm) and other virtues.
• All are satyavākya-rata, devoted to truthful speech.
• All follow the dharma of the four āśramas. They are Veda-adhyayana-sampanna (accomplished in study of the Veda) and sarva-śāstra-vicakshaṇa (skilled in all the śāstras).
• They receive what they need naturally, without effort, and reach the uttamagati (the highest goal).
• Vishṇu’s colour: śukla-varṇa (white).

The Tretā Yuga

• Dharma stands on three pādas.
• Vishṇu becomes rakta-varṇa (red).
• People face small hardships.
• All are kriyā-yoga-rata (devoted to the yoga of sacred action), yajña-karma-nishṭha (firm in performing yajña, the fire offering), satyavrata (vowed to truth) and dhyāna-parāyaṇa (given to meditation).

The Dvāpara Yuga

• Dharma stands on two pādas.
• Vishṇu becomes pīta-varṇa (yellow).
• Veda-vibhāga, the division of the Veda into four, takes place.
• Some dvijas (the “twice-born” varṇas) become adharma-nirata, given to adharma.
• Some brāhmaṇas and members of other varṇas develop rāgādi-durguṇas, faults such as attachment.
• Some perform brāhmaṇa-yajñas only to gain svarga or worldly wealth.
• Adharma and dharma are present in equal measure.
• Because of adharma-prabhāva (the influence of adharma), there is prajā-kshaya, a decline in population.

The Kali Yuga: The Age of Darkness

• Dharma has only one pāda left.
• This is the tāmasa-yuga, the age of tamas (darkness and dullness). Vishṇu takes kṛshṇa-varṇa, a dark or black colour.
• Only a rare few keep up yajñācāra (the practice of yajña) and kriyā-yoga.
• Most people look with jealousy on those who are dharmātmā (devoted to dharma).

The Kali Yuga in Detail

Nārada asks Sanaka Ṛshi to describe the Kali Yuga fully. Sanaka answers that when Śrī Hari takes on kṛshṇa-varṇa, in the Kali Yuga, all dharmas decline. The Kali Yuga is the age of total pāpa-saṅkara, the mixing together of pāpa (wrongdoing) and right action.

Learning and length of life:

• People will be alpa-āyushka, short-lived. With short lives, proper vidyābhyāsa (education) becomes impossible. Without proper education, adharma spreads further. The cycle speeds up: pāpa-tatparāḥ, people devoted to wrongdoing, cause elders to die early, before the young.

Varṇa and dharma:

• Brāhmaṇas become veda-parāṅmukha, turned away from the Vedas. Everyone looks dharmic on the outside but is full of kapaṭa (deceit) inside.
• All become asūyā-para, given to jealousy. Paṇḍitas (scholars) become proud and untruthful. Everyone claims to be the greatest, and everyone takes part in empty arguments.
• Little by little all varṇas become śūdra-tulya, like śūdras in conduct. The order of spiritual rise is turned upside down: in popular opinion the uttama (high) becomes nīca (low) and the nīca becomes “uttama”.

Kings and society:

• Kings, driven by dravya-āsakti (greed for wealth), act unjustly and tax the people too heavily. They oppress the prajā (their subjects).
• Dvijas become servants of śūdras.
• Men follow the ways of jealousy, chase other men’s wives and steal the wealth of others.
• Sons hate their fathers, and wives hate their husbands.

Food and social customs:

• People sell fish and meat. They milk cows that have no calves and sell the milk.
• People dig along riverbanks with shovels and plant trees there, breaking the natural order of the soil.
• The earth loses its natural fertility. Seeds and fruits decline.

Women and family:

• Women adorn themselves like veśyās (courtesans).
• Brāhmaṇas sell dharma, and women sell their bodies.
• Some śūdras sell the Vedas.

The sacred and the ordinary:

• Brāhmaṇas do not keep vratas (sacred vows). They accept dāna (gifts) from unworthy people.
• Dvijas do not keep up proper snāna (bathing) and śauca (cleanliness).
• Śrāddhas (rites for the ancestors) are done only for show (dambha).
• Dāna is given only to the unworthy.
• Brāhmaṇas who perform yajñas are beaten by the king’s servants for money.
• People live dāna-hīna lives, without giving; no one gives freely.
• Dvijas accept gifts from fallen people without a second thought.

At the end of Kali:

• Even in the first pāda (quarter) of Kali, people speak ill of Śrī Hari.
• At the end of Kali, not one person speaks the nāma (name) of Śrī Hari.
• Widows and śūdra women become objects of desire.
• The four āśramas are mocked, the paths of the Veda are abandoned, and the dharma-mārga (path of dharma) is condemned.

The Colour of Vishṇu in Each Yuga

The text states Vishṇu’s four colours across the four yugas:

Per Kūrma Purāṇa

The Kūrma Purāṇa gives a full teaching on yuga dharma. For each yuga it names the proper dharma, the right form of sādhanā (spiritual practice), the presiding devatā, and the general nature of the age.

This teaching is spread over several chapters, most of all in the conversation between Vyāsa and Arjuna (Chapter 30) and in the story of King Indradyumna. The Purāṇa says that dharma slowly weakens, from standing on four pādas (legs or quarters) in the Kṛta Yuga to only one pāda in the Kali Yuga. As it weakens, the spiritual path that fits each age also changes. Yet Bhagavān Śiva may be worshipped in all four yugas. The Purāṇa also tells of Vishṇu’s four forms across the yugas.

The Four Yugas and Their Main Dharma

Bhagavān Vyāsa, teaching Arjuna, says:

“In the Kṛta Yuga, dhyāna and tapas are foremost. In the Tretā Yuga, jñāna is primary. In the Dvāpara Yuga, yajña is the means. In the Kali Yuga, dāna alone is declared primary by the paṇḍitas.”

Here dhyāna means meditation, tapas means austerity, jñāna means spiritual knowledge, yajña means sacred fire offering, and dāna means giving in charity.

The text adds: “Brahmā, Vishṇu, and Sūrya are all worshipped in the Kali Yuga as well. But the piṇāka-bearing Bhagavān Śiva is worshipped across all four yugas.” The piṇāka is Śiva’s bow.

The Decline of Dharma, Quarter by Quarter

The text pictures dharma as standing on pādas (legs or quarters), and it loses one in each age:

• Kṛta Yuga: dharma stands on all four pādas. It is whole and perfect.
• Tretā Yuga: dharma stands on three pādas.
• Dvāpara Yuga: dharma stands on two pādas.
• Kali Yuga: dharma keeps only one pāda and barely holds itself up.

In the same spirit the text says: “In the Kṛta Yuga dharma is paramount — it continues into the Tretā. In the Dvāpara it is disturbed. In the Kali it reaches a state of kshīṇadaśā.” Kshīṇadaśā means a state of extreme weakness.

The Kṛta (Satya) Yuga

In the Kṛta Yuga:

• People are free from all sorrow, disease and restlessness. There is no high and low. Āyus (length of life), sukha (happiness) and rūpa (beauty of form) are the same for everyone.
• People live without fixed homes, on mountains and by the sea, in a state of natural purity.
• There are no households as we know them. People live in a simple way, much like brahmacarya (the disciplined life of a celibate student).
• Spiritual practice is dhyāna and tapas: meditation on the self, and austerity.
• The presiding devatā is Brahmā. The main quality is pure sattva (goodness and clarity).
• People are naturally content and free of grief. They turn to tattva-vicāra (reflection on the truth) and ekānta-vāsa (living in solitude).
• Couples do not have children through passion, since the natural pull toward sense pleasure is absent.

The Tretā Yuga

The Tretā Yuga sees the first fall from the golden age:

• The blissful rasa (sweetness of life) of the Kṛta Yuga begins to fade. Rain falls for the first time, and trees appear as places to live. These are the kalpavṛkshas (wish-fulfilling trees).
• Little by little, rāga (desire) and lobha (greed) arise in people. The kalpavṛkshas, which freely gave everything people needed, are used up through greed and misuse.
• Brahmā formally sets up varṇa-āśrama dharma (the order of social roles and stages of life) and yajña in this yuga. This gives society a clear structure once natural goodness begins to wear away.
• Farming, rivers and rain become the basis of livelihood.
• Sādhanā turns to jñāna, and the tradition of yajña is established.
• The presiding devatā is Sūrya.
• Yajñas are performed without harming animals.

The Dvāpara Yuga

The Dvāpara Yuga is marked by:

• More division. The one eternal Veda is split by the Vyāsas into four saṃhitās (collections), so that the weaker human understanding of this age can grasp it.
• Rajo-guṇa (restless activity) and tamo-guṇa (dullness and darkness) prevail. Anurāga (attachment), lobha (greed) and yuddha (conflict) become common.
• The Veda comes to be understood in three ways: sādharaṇa bhāvanā (a common understanding), along with the separate views of the various ṛshi families.
• Yajña is the main dharma, but people practise it in different ways.
• The spiritual path described for the Dvāpara is first vicāra (reflection), then vairāgya (detachment), then jñāna.
• The presiding devatā is Vishṇu.

The Kali Yuga: Darkness and Grace

The Decline of the Kali Yuga

Through Vyāsa’s teaching to Arjuna, the text gives a long and vivid picture of the Kali Yuga:

• People are gripped by tamo-guṇa. They are prone to māyā (delusion) and asūyā (envy), and they are hostile to ṛshis and to dharma.
• Epidemics, famine, drought and disorder among nations are everywhere.
• The adhārmika (those who reject dharma) are in control. Āyus (life) is short, bodies grow weak, and untruth spreads.
• Brāhmaṇas neglect adhyayana (study of the Veda) and yajña. Śūdras hold positions of power.
• The Vedas, the dharmaśāstras, the Purāṇas, and even Śiva and Vishṇu themselves are criticised and insulted by people ruled by tamas.
• Sannyāsīs (renunciants) become very many but give up their dharma. Trade, corruption and false ascetics are everywhere.
• Villages sell food and water. Women sell their hair. Kings oppress brāhmaṇas.

The Special Grace of the Kali Yuga

Even with all its darkness, the Kali Yuga has one remarkable gift: moksha (liberation) is easy to reach.

“A person in the Kali Yuga attains immense puṇya without much effort through sevā to Śiva. This is the one great virtue of the Kali Yuga — despite its many faults.”

Puṇya means spiritual merit, and sevā means loving service. The text also says:

“Those who are possessed of Mahādeva’s connection in this Mahāmaheśvara age — those who surrender to Maheśvara Rudra with pure minds — they, conquering the faults of Kali, attain paramapada.”

Paramapada means the highest state, moksha.

For the Kali Yuga the text names three practices in particular: namaskāra (bowing) to Rudra, dhyāna (meditation) on Śiva, and dāna. It says the Veda declares these to be the means of removing the doshas (faults) of this age.

Kāśī, the Refuge in the Kali Yuga

The text names Kāśī (Vārāṇasī) as the highest refuge for people born in the Kali Yuga:

“Among all the remedies for pāpa in the Kali Yuga, there is none equal to Vārāṇasī Purī — none at all.”

Maheśvara, Presiding Devatā of the Kali Yuga

The text firmly declares that Maheśvara Śiva is the loka-prabhu (master of the world) in the Kali Yuga:

“In the Kali Yuga, Mahādeva Śaṅkara can take avatāras. He is the one who brings phala-siddhi to humans. The nīla-lohita Śaṅkara is capable of taking on avatāras.”

Phala-siddhi means the fulfilment of one’s efforts, and nīla-lohita (“blue and red”) is a name of Śiva. This links to the teaching on Śiva’s avatāras in the Kali Yuga, in which Śiva comes down as various ācāryas (teachers) to keep Vedic dharma alive for those who are ready for it.

Per Garuḍa Purāṇa

In the Garuḍa Purāṇa, four things change from age to age: the form in which Bhagavān Vishṇu appears, how long beings live, how many pādas (legs or quarters) of dharma remain, and the sādhanā (spiritual practice) that is prescribed. In the Kali Yuga, Kṛshṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtana, singing the name of Kṛshṇa, is declared the one supreme refuge. It can achieve everything that dhyāna (meditation), japa (repeating a mantra) and arcana (formal pūjā) achieved in earlier ages.

The Four Yugas and Their Dharma

The Kṛta (Satya) Yuga: Dhyāna

In the Kṛta Yuga, all four pādas of dharma stand firm: satya (truth), dāna (generosity), tapas (austerity) and dayā (compassion). The prescribed sādhanā is dhyāna, deep meditation. Bhagavān Vishṇu appears in a white form. People live for 4,000 years. It is an age in which the Divine is seen directly, and sattva-guṇa (the quality of goodness and light) rules in all beings.

The Tretā Yuga: Japa

In the Tretā Yuga, three pādas of dharma remain. The prescribed sādhanā is japa, repeating the divine name or a mantra. Bhagavān Vishṇu appears in a red form. People live for 1,000 years. In this age japa achieves what dhyāna achieved in the Kṛta Yuga. Rajo-guṇa (the quality of restless activity) begins to mix with sattva.

The Dvāpara Yuga: Arcana

In the Dvāpara Yuga, only two pādas of dharma remain. The prescribed sādhanā is arcana: formal pūjā with a sacred image, mantras and upacāras (acts of honour and service). Bhagavān Vishṇu appears in a yellow (pīta) form. People live for 400 years. In this age Veda Vyāsa comes down to divide the Vedas into four and arrange them, so that beings of weaker ability can understand them. Rajo-guṇa becomes dominant.

The Kali Yuga: Saṅkīrtana

In the Kali Yuga, only one pāda of dharma remains. The prescribed sādhanā is saṅkīrtana, singing together the names and glories of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu appears in a dark (kṛshṇa) form. The span of life keeps shrinking. Tamo-guṇa (the quality of darkness and dullness) rules. Kṛshṇa-nāma, the name of Kṛshṇa, is declared the one refuge:

Kalau kṛtayugaṃ tasya / kalis tasya kṛtayuge / hṛdaye yasya govindo / yasya cetasi nācyutaḥ

This means: “For one in whose heart Govinda dwells, Kali becomes Kṛta Yuga; for one in whose mind Acyuta is absent, Kṛta Yuga is as Kali.” Govinda and Acyuta are names of Kṛshṇa.

The Eighteen Purāṇas

The text lists the eighteen Mahā Purāṇas (great Purāṇas) in their traditional order. A traditional memory verse helps in learning them:

Ma-dvayaṃ va-catushṭayam / anāpaliṃga-kūskāni

The eighteen Purāṇas are:

1. Brahma Purāṇa
2. Padma Purāṇa
3. Vishṇu Purāṇa
4. Śiva Purāṇa
5. Bhāgavata Purāṇa
6. Bhavishya Purāṇa
7. Nāradīya Purāṇa
8. Skanda Purāṇa
9. Liṅga Purāṇa
10. Varāha Purāṇa
11. Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa
12. Agni Purāṇa
13. Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa
14. Kūrma Purāṇa
15. Matsya Purāṇa
16. Garuḍa Purāṇa
17. Vāyu Purāṇa
18. Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa

The Two Pralayas

The text describes two kinds of pralaya (dissolution of the universe).

Naimittika Pralaya (the Periodic Dissolution)

This happens at the end of every 4,000 yugas, which is one day of Brahmā, also called a kalpa. It unfolds in this order:

1. A drought of 100 years dries up the earth.
2. Seven suns (the seven Ādityas) rise together and burn the three worlds.
3. Rudra comes down and destroys what is left.
4. Saṃvartaka clouds gather and pour rain for 100 years.
5. Brahmā withdraws into sleep, and creation is paused until his next day begins.

Prākṛtika Pralaya (the Complete Dissolution)

This is the final, total dissolution. It comes after Brahmā’s full life of 100 years. At this time all twenty-four tattvas (basic elements) of prakṛti (material nature) dissolve back into the Unmanifest. Brahmā himself merges into Nārāyaṇa. Only the Paramātman (Supreme Self), Vishṇu, remains, resting on the waters of the universe.

Per Bhāgavata Purāṇa

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa gives the yuga-dharma twice: in the teaching of the Yogīśvara Karabhājana to King Nimi, which Nārada Maharshi recounts to Vasudeva, on the colour, form, names and pūjā of Śrī Hari in each yuga; and in Śuka Maharshi’s answer to Parīkshit on the feet of dharma, the guṇa of each yuga, the faults of Kali and the remedy of the Name.

Śrī Hari in the four yugas

Nimi asked: “In which yuga does Bhagavān Śrī Hari have which colour? With what form, under what name and by what rite do people worship him?” Karabhājana answered that in the four yugas people worship Śrī Hari, who has many colours, names and forms, by many kinds of method.

The names of the Kṛta yuga. Haṃsa, who removes ignorance; Suparṇa, of beautiful form; Vaikuṇṭha, without inertness; Dharma; Yogeśvara, ruler of the yogīs; Manu; Īśvara, the antaryāmin; Purusha, the full one; Avyakta, not perceived by the senses; and Paramātmā, the innermost ātmā.

The names of the Tretā yuga. Vishṇu, the all-pervading; Yajña, the form of yajña, the one to be worshipped; Pṛśnigarbha, son of Pṛśni; Sarvadeva, the form of all the devatās; Urukrama, of great strides; Vṛshākapi, who fulfils desires and removes troubles; Jayanta, supreme over all; and Urugāya, the greatly praised.

The praise of the Dvāpara yuga. “O Vāsudeva, namaskāra to you, Bhagavān Vāsudeva; namaskāra to Pradyumna, Aniruddha and Saṅkarshaṇa“, or “to the four vyūhas that bear these names”; or “namaskāra to Bhagavān Śrī Hari, the dwelling of the whole world, whose form is light and tejas, who is independent and, being the form of love, draws the bhaktas to himself.” The full Parabrahman, the ātmā in all beings without limit of place, is Nārāyaṇa Maharshi: namaskāra to that Parabrahman, who has appeared as the world and is its antaryāmin.

The praise of the Kali yuga. “O Purushottama, who protects those who bow to you, your lotus foot is always worthy of dhyāna. Your foot, the source of the Gaṅgā, removes the humiliations of those who take refuge; Śiva and Brahmā praise it; it grants what is desired, removes the sorrow of the bhaktas and is the boat across the ocean of saṃsāra. O Purushottama, descending as Śrī Rāma, steadfast in dharma, to keep your father’s word you gave up the wealth of the kingdom, which even the devatās long for, and went to the forest, and at the wish of your beloved Sītā you ran after the māyā deer. Namaskāra to your lotus foot.”

In this way, Karabhājana said, the people of each yuga worship Bhagavān Śrī Hari with the names and forms fitting that yuga, and he grants what is truly good. The discerning praise the Kali yuga, for in it all the aims of all the yugas are won by saṅkīrtana alone; there is no greater gain for beings wandering in saṃsāra, for by it saṃsāra is destroyed and the highest peace, moksha, is attained. The people of the Kṛta, Tretā and Dvāpara yugas wish to be born in the Kali yuga, because in it bhaktas whose highest goal is Nārāyaṇa alone are born here and there, and very many in the Draviḍa country, where flow the Tāmraparṇī, the Kṛtamālā, the Payasvinī, the supremely pure Kāverī, the Pratīcī and the Mahānadī. Those who often drink the water of these rivers are purified within, and bhakti for Vāsudeva arises in them.

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 5

The feet of dharma

After telling the song of the Earth, who laughs at kings who would conquer her, Śuka was asked by Parīkshit: “In the Kali yuga faults grow into heaps. By what means can people be rid of them? Tell me of the yugas and the yuga-dharmas.” Śuka answered:

• Kṛta yuga. Dharma goes on four feet: satya (truth), dayā (compassion), tapas and dāna (giving, the gift of fearlessness). All people have contentment, dayā, friendliness, control of the mind and the outer senses, the power to bear the pairs of opposites, the bliss of their own nature, the vision of Īśvara in all, and diligence.
• Tretā yuga. A fourth of the feet of dharma slowly wastes away through the feet of adharma: satya through untruth, dayā through hiṃsā, tapas through greed and dāna through quarrel. People are devoted to Vedic karmas and tapas, do no harm beyond what a household cannot avoid, follow dharma, artha and kāma without attachment, and are expert in the karmas of the Ṛg, Yajus and Sāma Vedas; among the varṇas the brāhmaṇa has precedence.
• Dvāpara yuga. Half of the marks of dharma, tapas, satya, dayā and dāna, waste away through hiṃsā, evil craving, untruth and hatred. People have large houses and families, delight in studying and teaching their own branch of the Veda, perform great yajñas and are wealthy and joyful; the brāhmaṇa and kshatriya varṇas have prominence.
• Kali yuga. The feet of adharma grow and the feet of dharma waste away to a fourth, and by the end of the yuga even that perishes. People are greedy, of bad conduct and without dayā, quarrelling over trifles out of craving.

The guṇas of the yugas

The three guṇas in a person, moved by Kāla, change body and mind. When the mind and the organs of knowledge abound in sattva, with a taste for jñāna and tapas, know it as the Kṛta yuga. When beings are devoted to dharma, artha and kāma, it is the Tretā, in which rajas is foremost. When greed, craving, pride, show and envy arise, with a taste for acts driven by desire, it is the Dvāpara, in which rajas and tamas are foremost. When deceit, untruth, sloth, sleep, violence, sorrow, weeping, delusion, fear and wretchedness arise, it is the Kali yuga, in which tamas is foremost.

The people of the Kali yuga

By the power of Kali men become dull-witted, of little fortune and gluttonous, and, being poor, lustful. Thieves increase; those whose conduct is against the Veda pollute the Vedas; kings devour their subjects. Brahmacārīs live without vows or purity; householders stop giving bhikshā and go begging themselves; elders who should live in the forest live in the villages; sannyāsīs are greedy for money. Base merchants cheat in trade, and even without distress people take up ways of living that the good despise. Servants leave a master who has no money, masters leave a servant in distress, and householders abandon a cow that gives no milk. Men leave mother, father, brothers and friends, and take counsel only with their wives’ kin. Śūdras put on the dress of tapasvīs to live on dāna, and those who do not know dharma sit on the high seat and teach it. Famine and heavy taxes waste the people in body and mind; they lack clothes, food, water and shelter, and live like piśācas. They quarrel even over a quarter-coin, give up love, those dear to them and their own lives, and do not look after their old mother and father. Their minds are shaken by doctrines opposed to the Veda, and they do not worship Śrī Hari, the first cause and father of the worlds, at whose lotus feet even Indra and the other rulers of the three worlds prostrate.

The remedy: Śrī Hari in the heart, and his Name

If one who is dying, or sick, or falling and helpless, sings the name of Śrī Hari, the bolt of his karmas is drawn back and he reaches the highest state. The faults that Kali brings into substances, places, the mind and the senses are all cast away when Purushottama is remembered in the heart. By hearing his accounts, by nāma-saṅkīrtana, by dhyāna, by pūjā or even by honouring him, one should keep Śrī Hari in the heart: then the pāpas of ten thousand births are washed away. As fire entering gold removes the copper mixed with it, so Śrī Hari, dwelling in the heart, removes the traces of pāpa. The purity that comes from meditating on Bhagavān Ananta in the heart does not come from upāsanā, tapas, prāṇāyāma, friendliness to beings, tīrtha-snāna, vratas, dāna or japa. “Therefore, O Parīkshit, as death draws near, be attentive and set Śrī Hari in your heart, and you will attain moksha. One who is dying should meditate single-pointedly on Parameśvara; Bhagavān Śrī Hari, the ātmā and refuge of all, grants him oneness with himself.”

“The Kali yuga, a treasury of faults, has one great virtue: in it, merely by singing of Śrī Kṛshṇa, the sādhaka leaves his attachment to saṃsāra and reaches the Paramātmā. What is gained in the Kṛta yuga by dhyāna on Śrī Hari, in the Tretā by worshipping him with yajñas, and in the Dvāpara by sevā and pūjā, is gained in the Kali yuga by kīrtana of Śrī Hari alone.”

Source: Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 12, Chapter 3

Sources

• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapter 92
• Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa, Uttara Kāṇḍa, Chapters 92–94
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 149–151
• Mahābhārata, Śānti Parva, Mokshadharma Parva, Chapter 231 (Śukānupraśna)
• Vāyu Purāṇa, Chapter 32 (Yuga Dharma Nirūpaṇa)
• Vāyu Purāṇa, Chapter 57
• Vāyu Purāṇa, Chapter 58
• Nārada Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first half), Chapter 41
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first half), Chapter 28
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first half), Chapter 29
• Kūrma Purāṇa, Pūrvārdha (first half), Chapter 30
• Garuḍa Purāṇa, Ācāra Khaṇḍa, Chapters 223–224
• Bhāgavata Purāṇa, Skandha 11, Chapter 5; Skandha 12, Chapter 3