THE KALI AGE: A PERIOD OF SOCIAL CRISIS

KALI It means the neglect of rituals, and the predominance and influence of heretical sects and also of foreign and non-brahmanical rulers It connotes the non-performance & influence of the functions assigned to different social strata or varnas by the Dharmasatras. KALI AGE Detailed descriptions of the Kali age are found in almost all the early Puranas. It is characterised by insecurity and widespread lawlessness. It appears as a period of anarchy caused by the destruction of yogaksema (welfare) R.C. Hazra divides the Kali Age into three different periods:
The 3rd and the first quarter of the 4th centuries AD 8th century 3rd - 10th century or so

Dates have been assigned to the descriptions of the Kali age apparently on the basis of the contents of the chapters in which they occur. Hazra calls the period from the age of the Nandas and Mauryas to the end of the Andhra rule the Kali Age and underlines the presence of the sudra kings in it. Each period called Kali by Hazra is characterised by:
Foreign invasions Instability Social tensions Conflicts Heterodox sects and teachings

Hazras attribution of the descriptions of the Kali coincides with the period between the decline and fall of the Kushana and Satavahana states on the one hand and the firm establishment of Gupta power on the other.

The Kali age and its features become meaningful historically only when one tries to look at them against the background of 3rd and 4th centuries. The period that followed Kushanas & Satavahanas showed political instability & subsequent decline in trade & urbanisation which seriously affected social structures & time. The advent of the full fledged Kali coincides with a striking change in the pattern of settlements which is evident from the widespread decay of old, urban settlements in the country. References to the Kali in the Puranas and inscriptions after the 4th century may indicate either real or imaginary disorder. Early medieval rulers claim to have coped with the Kali crisis was probably made to boost and legitimize their power. The references to the presence of sudra ascetics in the Kali era show the impact of heterodox ideology on the sudras.
The main elements of the Kali highlighted in the texts assigned to the 3rd century AD and to the beginning of the 4th century AD can be enumerated as:
Mixing of Varnas or Varnasamkara Hostility between sudras and Brahmanas Refusal of Vaishyas to pay taxes and offer sacrifice Oppression of people with taxes Widespread theft and robbery Insecurity of family and property Destruction of livelihood Growing importance of wealth over ritual status Dominance of mleccha princes

Therefore, widespread social disorder adversely affected the safety and security of the privileged orders.

Main causes of the Kali Age disorder Alien rule

Heavy Taxation
Brahmana -Sudra hostility

The major consequence of the social disorder was the widespread mixing of the varnas. Intense hostility between the Brahmanas and the sudras is a striking feature of the description of the Varna confusion in the Kali. The use of the term Samuduga distinguishes the onset of the Kali Age marked by the destruction of dharma. Trade was an important source of livelihood in the Kali age. Archaeological discoveries suggest that the Kushana Satavahana phase was marked by commodity production and promoted both internal and external trade.

Factors that led to social disorder and varna conflicts

Natural Calamities such as famine, heavy rains, drought Oppresive taxes Flourishing foreign trade Rulers demands could no longer be met by the peasants, traders, artisans, and labourers who comprised the Vaishyas and Sudras

Measures to tackle the crisis Removal of food and marriage barriers Removal of the abandonment of the functions prescribed for social orders Exercise of danda or force - Coercive power protects dharma, artha, and kama, and guards foodgrains & property

The area in which the Kali phenomenon occurred remains to be specified. The coincidence between the beginning of the land grants on a large scale and the time of the Kali Yuga conflict provides a clue. In the 3rd century, several land grants were made to the sacred shrines of 5 deities of Gwalior. Social conflicts evident from the description of the Kali Age in the Puranas, appeared in the peripheral areas where the Varna system was not so well established and the vestige of the tribal egalitarianism economy. Large scale migration was an important phenomenon in the Kali age. The Kali crisis benefitted certain sections of the sudras. Land grants in tribal areas led to the assimilation of the aborigines in Varna society as sudras and made them agriculturalists. The lawgivers adopted a liberal attitude towards some sections of sudras and made their food acceptable. Thus, to conclude, the Kali crisis of the late 3rd and 4th centuries acted as a catalyst for the feudalisation of Indian economy.