tan-nāthās te janapadās
tac-chīlācāra-vādinaḥ
anyonyato rājabhiś ca
kṣayaḿ yāsyanti pīḍitāḥ
tat-nathah -- the subjects having these kings as rulers; te -- they; jana-padah -- the residents of the cities; tat -- of these kings; sila -- (imitating) the character; acara -- behavior; vadinah -- and speech; anyonyatah -- one another; rajabhih -- by the kings; ca -- and; kshayam yasyanti -- they will become ruined; piditah -- tormented.
The citizens governed by these low-class kings will imitate the character, behavior and speech of their rulers. Harassed by their leaders and by each other, they will all suffer ruination.
At the end of the Ninth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, it is stated that Ripunjaya, or Puranjaya, the first king mentioned in this chapter, ended his rule about one thousand years after the time of Lord Krishna. Since Lord Krishna appeared approximately five thousand years ago, Puranjaya must have appeared about four thousand years ago. That would mean that Visvasphurji, the last king mentioned, would have appeared approximately in the twelfth century of the Christian era.
Modern Western scholars have made the false accusation that Indian religious literature has no sense of chronological history. But the elaborate historical chronology described in this chapter certainly refutes that naive assessment.
Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to the Twelfth Canto, First Chapter, of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, entitled "The Degraded Dynasties of Kali-yuga."
