Study a Verse

• Thus the beginning of the misuse of brahminical power began, and gradually the brāhmaṇas in the Age of Kali became devoid of both brahminical powers and culture.
• The brāhmaṇa boy considered Mahārāja Parīkṣit to be kulāṅgāra, or the wretched of the dynasty, but factually the brāhmaṇa boy himself was so because only from him did the brāhmaṇa caste become powerless, like the snake whose poisoned teeth are broken.
• Thus the whole scientific system of the orders of society in this age has assumed the form of a vitiated caste system, which is now being uprooted by another class of men similarly influenced by the Age of Kali.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Remorse and urgency → Surrender and inquiry. Seven days to live become the impetus for complete spiritual hearing.

Chapters 18–19 of Canto 1: Parīkṣit is cursed and welcomes Śukadeva. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 18: Mahārāja Parīkṣit Cursed by a Brāhmaṇa Boy

A sage’s son curses Parīkṣit, but his father condemns the punishment of the saintly king.