, urged by their very dispositions, men will act
cruelly, and speak ill of one another. And people will, without
compunction, destroy trees and gardens. And men will be filled with
anxiety as regards the means of living. And, O king, overwhelmed with
covetousness, men will kill Brahmanas and appropriate and enjoy the
possessions of their victims. And the regenerate ones, oppressed by
Sudras, and afflicted with fear, and crying Oh and Alas, will wander over
the earth without anybody to protect them. And when men will begin to
slay one another, and become wicked and fierce and without any respect
for animal life, then will the Yuga come to an end. And, O king, even the
foremost of the regenerate ones, afflicted by robbers, will, like crows,
fly in terror and with speed, and seek refuge, O perpetuator of the Kuru
race, in rivers and mountains and inaccessible regions. And always
oppressed by bad rulers with burthens of taxes, the foremost of the
regenerate classes, O lord of the earth, will, in those terrible times,
take leave of all patience and do improper acts by becoming even the
servants of the Sudras. And Sudras will expound the scriptures, and
Brahmanas will wait upon and listen to them, and settle their course of
duty accepting such interpretations as their guides. And the low will
become the high, and the course of things will look contrary. And
renouncing the gods, men will worship bones and other relics deposited
within walls. And, at the end of the Yuga, the Sudras will cease to wait
upon and serve the Brahmanas. And in the asylums of great Rishis, and the
teaching institutions of Brahmanas, and in places sacred to the gods and
sacrificial compounds, and in sacred tanks, the earth will be disfigured
with tombs and pillars containing bony relics and not graced with temples
dedicated to the gods. All this will take place at the end of the Yuga,
and know that these are the signs of the end of the Yuga. And when men
become fierce and destitute of virtue and carnivorous and addicted to
intoxicating drinks, then doth the Yuga come to an end. And, O monarch,
when flowers will be begot within flowers, and fruits within fruits, then
will the Yuga come to an end. And the clouds will pour rain unseasonably
when the end of the Yuga approaches. And, at that time, ceremonial rites
of men will not follow one another in due order, and the Sudras will
quarrel with the Brahmanas. And the earth will soon be full of mlecchas,
and th