Pariksit and Kali

Chapter 16, 17

On his travels, Maharaja Pariksit encountered a terrified bull (the personification of dharma), who was bereft of three legs. The bull was speaking to a cow (the personification of bhumi, Mother Earth), who was grieving after Krishna’s departure and lamenting the subsequent degradation in the kingdom. They had been mercilessly attacked by Kali, the agent of darkness. Seeing their pitiable condition, Maharaja Pariksit pacified them and vowed to address the injustice that had occurred.

When the King furiously approached Kali and prepared to slay him, the agent of darkness displayed repentance and surrender. Bound by kingly principles, the righteous Maharaja Pariksit refrained from annihilating Kali, and instead awarded him four specific places to reside – where there is meat-eating, intoxication, gambling and illicit sex (and in addition, any place where gold is hoarded). The King then re-established the lost legs of religion and revived the sanctity of the kingdom.