Rich Ascetics Build Splendid Houses while Famine Empties the Fields
Uttara Kanda, Chhand 11
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Wealthy renunciants decorate fine dwellings while detachment has vanished from the heart. Ascetics become rich and householders poor. Honored wives are cast out, servants are installed in their place, and children respect parents only until romantic attachment turns the family into enemies.
Kings abandon dharma and torment their people through unjust punishment. High birth and wealth conceal corruption; the sacred thread becomes the sole visible sign of brahminhood. Those who reject Veda and Purana are acclaimed as Hari's saints.
Generous poets find no listeners, fault-finders thrive, and the virtuous are despised. Then the moral inversion reaches the earth itself. Famine returns again and again. Grain disappears, and people suffer and die without food. The Chhand moves from decorated houses to empty fields, revealing one continuous disorder: resources, honor, loyalty, authority, and speech all flow away from their rightful purpose until the land mirrors the hunger of the age.
Behind the splendid houses of false renunciation, the fields lie empty and a whole age waits for grain.
Read the passage from the Manas
बहु दाम सँवारहिं धाम जती। बिषया हरि लीन्हि न रहि बिरती।। तपसी धनवंत दरिद्र गृही। कलि कौतुक तात न जात कही।। कुलवंति निकारहिं नारि सती। गृह आनिहिं चेरी निबेरि गती।। सुत मानहिं मातु पिता तब लौं। अबलानन दीख नहीं जब लौं।। ससुरारि पिआरि लगी जब तें। रिपरूप कुटुंब भए तब तें।। नृप पाप परायन धर्म नहीं। करि दंड बिडंब प्रजा नितहीं।। धनवंत कुलीन मलीन अपी। द्विज चिन्ह जनेउ उघार तपी।। नहिं मान पुरान न बेदहि जो। हरि सेवक संत सही कलि सो।। कबि बृंद उदार दुनी न सुनी। गुन दूषक ब्रात न कोपि गुनी।। कलि बारहिं बार दुकाल परै। बिनु अन्न दुखी सब लोग मरै।।
Many wealthy renunciants adorn their homes with great splendor, yet their hearts are bereft of true dispassion. Ascetics grow rich while householders fall into poverty; O dear one, the strange ways of Kali cannot be told! Virtuous wives are cast out from noble families, while servant girls are brought home with honor. Sons respect their parents only so long as they have not beheld the face of their beloved. Once they grow attached to their wives, their own family becomes like enemies. Kings abandon righteousness and pursue sin, tormenting their subjects daily with unjust punishments. The wealthy and highborn become corrupt, while brahmins wear only the sacred thread as their mark. Those who honor neither Puranas nor Vedas are counted as true saints and servants of Hari in Kali. Generous poets find no audience in this world, while fault-finders flourish and the virtuous are scorned. In Kali, famine strikes again and again; without grain, all people suffer and perish.