Was Kalyug already predicted by Shri Krishna in Uddhava Gita?

In Hinduism, Kalyug is the last, shortest and worst of all four yugas. Even though lakhs of years are left in Kalyug, Shri Krishna had already envisioned how this yuga would look like. Uddhav Gita- also known as last message by Shri Krishna elaborates about the about spirituality, soul, dharma, self-knowledge and root cause of all sorrows in Kalyug.

According to Uddhava Gita when four of the Pandavas asked Shri Krishna that what is Kalyug? And how it would look like? Shri Krishna demonstrated them in a unique way. But before delving into the details of the story let’s first answer some basic questions about Uddhava Gita.

What is Uddhava Gita?

Uddhava Gita

Most of the people have only heard about Bhagavad Gita. But out of 50+ books in Hinduism, there are 2 Gitas- Bhagavad Gita and Uddhava Gita. Uddhava Gita also known as Hans Gita, is a part of Shrimad Bhagwat Maha purana. 

Uddhava Gita was written when Shri Krishna was about to leave his body and Kalyug started after his demise. It was time when Yadu Vanshyas started fighting to each other. Uddhav ji got worried and remembered his friend Shri Krishna. He then decided to visit his  court. After knowing that Krishna ji about to leave his body, Uddhava ji requested Krishna to take him to his world. It was evident in the book that Shri Krishna loved Uddhava ji and didn’t want him to live in Kalyug. Because If you read the 4th shloka of the 2nd chapter of Uddhava Gita, then Shri Krishna tells Uddhava ji that you should not stay in Kalyug after I leave.

That was the moment when Uddhava Gita got its shape as Shri Krishna tells about Kalyug world, how to attain salvation and how to live in Kalyug. 

How is Uddhava Gita different from Bhagavad Gita?

Uddhav Gita talks about spirituality, soul, dharma, self-knowledge and root cause of all sorrows. In Bhagavad Gita Krishna talks about to Arjuna about his deeds and duties as a warrior. It had a very practical context. Krishna gave enlightenment to Arjun in the starting of war whereas gave knowledge to his friend Uddhava in the end of war. Bhagavad Gita is a part of Mahabharata and has 700 shlokas. Uddhav Gita is found in Shrimad Bhagavatam Maha purana and it has 1100 shlokas which is divided in 24 chapters.

The two books can be linked through similarities between them as they both included dilemma and conflict. On one hand, there was Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita who was upset to take up arms against his own relatives. And on the other hand, Uddhava was upset after seeing his own brothers fighting with each other.

Who was Uddhava?

Shri Krishna and Uddhava Ji

Uddhava was a very learned man and was a great follower of Shri Krishna. From childhood, he used to worship him and became his friend. Uddhava ji learned Brahma Vidya from Brihaspati dev. It is believed that he might be a person of great intellect as the book is named after him.

 Now let’s talk about a few main teachings of Uddhava Gita-

1. BE OBJECTIVE :

In the 2nd chapter of 6th shloka, Shri Krishna talks about being objective. He tells that people living in Kalyug should give up love relations. They should leave any sort of attachment with family. It is worth noting here that we have to leave the attachment here not the family.

2.  CONTROL YOUR SENSES:

In 2nd chapter shloka 9, Shri Krishna talks about control over senses. He says that you should control the instincts in your mind. Even maharishi Patanjali has written in his book “ Yog darshan” that controlling your senses is called yoga.

3. BE CURIOUS AND LOGICAL:

In 19th shloka of 2nd chapter tells Uddhava ji that the person who is curious about questions like what is this world, where did it came from and how does it works? The person who thinks about his existence is saved from a lot of bad things with his wisdom. If we become curious about our surroundings, then a lot of things around can teach us.

4. PRACTICE HEALTHY DETACHMENT:

We should be totally detached with everything while working. But the question is, if we stay away from all our desires then why should we work? And if we don’t work of our desire then what should we do? Shri Krishna answers this question in 1st shloka of 5th chapter. You should do your karma not according to your mind, but according to your varna and ashram. And you have to do all this work selflessly. You don’t have to be attached to the associated results.

5. ASPECTS OF RESULT:

· Whatever the result is, win or lose, the time will eat it. A time will come when it will have no value.

· If you keep working selflessly, there comes a time when you start having problems or you feel bad that you cannot move forward in this way, then again observe your surroundings. 

Story on How Kalyug will look like?

Krishna and Pandavas

Shri Krishna knew very well what would Kalyug bring along. Once the four Pandavas Arjun, Bhima, Nakul and Sahadev asked Krishna what is Kalyug? Krishna smiled and said let me demonstrate you the situation of Kalyug. He took a bow along with four arrows and shot them in four directions. He ordered the four Pandavas to go and bring them back. Each of the four Pandavas went into the four different directions to search for the arrows. When Arjuna picked an arrow he heard a very sweet voice. He turned around and saw a cuckoo singing but was also eating the flesh of a live rabbit. Arjuna was very surprised to see the act of such a divine bird and he left the place immediately.

 Bhima went and picked the arrow from a place where there were five wells situated. The four wells were surrounded by a single well. The four wells were overflowing with very sweet water as if they were not able to hold water and surprisingly the well in the middle of these four overflowing wells was completely empty. Bhima was puzzled at this sight.

Nakul was returning to the place after picking up the arrow. He stopped at a place where a cow was about to give birth. After giving birth, the cow started licking the calf even after the calf was clean. The people were able to separate them with great difficulty. By that time the calf was injured badly. Nakul was puzzled by the behavior of such a calm animal.

Sahadev picked the arrow which fell near a mountain and saw a big boulder falling. The boulder was crushing the rocks and the big trees on its way down. But the same boulder was stopped by a small plant. Sahadev was so amazed at the sight. The four Pandavas returned to Lord Krishna with the arrows. They placed the arrows at Lord Krishna's feet and requested him to explain the meaning of the mysterious sights that each of them had witnessed.

Lord Krishna smiled and began explaining to the first scenario of Arjuna. Krishna says in Kalyug, the pious men and saints will be like the cuckoo. They will always have sweet words but will exploit and inflict pain on their followers like the cuckoo was doing to the poor rabbit. Lord Krishna looked at Bhima continued and said in Kalyug the poor and the rich will live in the same locality. The rich will be overflowing with fortune yet they will not spare a single coin to help the poor like the dry well received not a drop of water from the surrounding wells that were overflowing with water. Lord Krishna looked at Nakula and said in Kalyug, parents will love their children so intensely that they will end up spoiling them in the same manner that the cow destroyed its calf by licking it too much. Parents will disrupt their children's lives with too much love. The attachment with children will be so much that parents will become blind to all of their relationships and deeds in their lives. Lord Krishna said to Sahadev, the people of Kalyug will rush to their doom like the boulder. Large trees are symbol of assets in life like relatives, family, friends and wealth. None of these will help them escape the doom. The plant stands for the name of God, a weak but faithful recalling of God’s name will help them escape this Doom.