Bhagwat Puran Twelfth Skandh: The Kali Age, Parikshit's Liberation and Markandeya

The twelfth skandh concludes the Bhagwat. The seven-day katha is completed, Parikshit leaves his body without fear, and the Bhagwat gives its final message.

Chapters 1 and 2: the kings and marks of the Kali age

Shukadeva described the dynasties to come (Magadha, Maurya, Shunga, Kanva, Andhra and others) and the marks of the Kali age: wealth will be the measure of family, virtue and merit; might will be right; marriage will rest on attraction alone; purity will mean only bathing; learning will be cleverness of speech; lifespan, strength and memory will decline; people will make a show of dharma.

At the end of the Kali age the Lord will be born as Kalki in the village of Shambhala to the Brahmin Vishnuyasha, ride the horse Devadatta and destroy the wicked with his sword, and then the Satya age will return.

Chapter 3: one great virtue of the Kali age

The Kali age is an ocean of faults, yet it has one great virtue: "Kaler dosha nidhe rajann asti hy eko mahan gunah, kirtanad eva krishnasya mukta sangah param vrajet": O King, in this storehouse of faults there is one great quality: by singing Krishna's name alone one is freed from attachment and reaches the Supreme (12.3.51). What was gained by meditation in Satya, sacrifice in Treta and worship in Dvapara is gained in Kali by singing Hari's name.

Chapter 4: the four dissolutions

The constant, occasional, elemental and absolute dissolutions are described, as in the Vishnu Puran.

Chapter 5: Shukadeva's last teaching

Shukadeva said to Parikshit: "O King, give up the animal thought 'I shall die'. You are not the body. As the space in a pot merges into the vast sky when the pot breaks, so the self merges into Brahman when the body falls. Takshaka cannot bite you, for you are the self. Establish yourself in Brahman."

Chapter 6: Parikshit's liberation and Janamejaya's serpent sacrifice

Parikshit bowed to Shukadeva and said: "You have fulfilled my life; I no longer fear death." He sat on kusha grass on the bank of the Ganga facing north, absorbed in the Lord. Takshaka came disguised as a Brahmin and bit him, but Parikshit had already merged into Brahman.

His son Janamejaya in anger held a serpent sacrifice in which all the serpents began falling into the fire. Takshaka took refuge with Indra. Brihaspati explained to Janamejaya that every being reaps the fruit of its own actions; let go of revenge. Janamejaya stopped the sacrifice.

Chapters 6 and 7: the branches of the Vedas and the Puranas

The branches of the Vedas and their teachers are given, and the names and marks of the eighteen Puranas: Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva, Linga, Garuda, Narada, Bhagavata, Agni, Skanda, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Vamana, Varaha, Matsya, Kurma and Brahmanda.

Chapters 8 to 10: the sage Markandeya

Markandeya performed great austerities; Indra sent Kamadeva and apsaras, but he did not waver. Pleased, Nara-Narayana offered him a boon. He said: "I wish to see your maya." One day a deluge suddenly appeared: water, storm and darkness everywhere, and Markandeya wandered in it for ages. Then on a banyan leaf he saw a beautiful infant sucking his toe. With the infant's breath he was drawn into his belly and saw the whole universe there, then came out again. He understood it was the Lord's maya and the infant the Lord himself. Then Shiva and Parvati appeared and blessed him to live, renowned and wise, until the end of the cycle.

Chapter 11: the meaning of the Lord's ornaments

The symbolic meaning of the Lord's ornaments and weapons: the Kaustubha jewel is the soul, the Shrivatsa mark nature, the garland maya, the yellow robe the Vedas, the conch the element water, the Sudarshana fire and radiance, the mace the life force, the lotus His play, the bow time, and the sword knowledge. The gods who travel with the sun in each month are also described.

Chapters 12 and 13: the essence and glory of the Bhagwat

Suta ji summarised all twelve skandhs and said the Bhagwat is the essence of all the Vedas and Upanishads; one who has tasted its nectar finds no taste in any other book. The merit of gifting the Bhagwat on a golden throne on Bhadrapada Purnima is also described. The last verse is:

Nama sankirtanam yasya sarva papa pranashanam
pranamo duhkha shamanas tam namami harim param (12.13.23)

Meaning: I bow to the supreme Lord Hari, the singing of whose name destroys all sins and bowing to whom ends all sorrows.

What this skandh teaches

• Even in hard times the simplest means is God's name.
• Fear of death comes from taking the body as "I"; knowledge of the self removes it.
• Revenge brings no peace (Janamejaya); forgiveness does.
• The Lord's maya is boundless; humility before it is wisdom (Markandeya).
• The Bhagwat in one line: take Hari's name and bow to Hari.