Today we shall discuss about the prominent symptom of this age. This book, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, was written . . . not written; practically it was recorded. All Vedic literature, they are recorded from hearing, or tradition of . . .
(break) . . . five thousand years before, the statements of authorities, people could keep in mind without any book record. At that time the memory was so sharp that one could keep in his memory simply by once hearing from the spiritual master. There was no need of written book to consult.
So five thousand years ago this book was recorded by Vyāsadeva because he could understand that in future people will be born of so lower grade that it would be not possible to keep in memory without book record. So formerly, these books were written in hand on palm leaves, and . . . because there was no press or type. So if you wanted a book, you had to copy from other's book. That was the system.
So the point is that five thousand years ago, the things which were written for this age, how they are coming to be true in our experience. That is the point: how they could see past, present, and future so nicely. The sages were known as tri-kāla-jña. Tri means three. There is almost similarity, tri and "three."
Tri is Sanskrit, and three is English, or Latin, but there is similarity. Tri-kāla-jña. Tri means three, and kāla means time. Time is experienced by three ways: past, present and future. Time limitation, past, present and . . . whenever you speak of time, it is past, present or future.
So the sages in those days were tri-kāla-jña. Tri-kāla-jña means they could understand, they could know what was in the past, was . . . what there shall be in the future and what is at present. Just like in the Gītā, Kṛṣṇa says, "My dear Arjuna, you, Me, I, and all these kings and soldiers who have assembled in this battlefield, they were all individuals, and we are still individual. And in this past, in the future, we shall all remain individual." (BG 2.12) The past, present and future, he explained. Another place Kṛṣṇa says, vedāhaṁ samatītāni (BG 7.26). Atītāni, atītāni means past. Vartamānāni ca, "and present." So, that is yogic power. One can know past, present, and future.
So here Śukadeva Gosvāmī is speaking about this Kali-yuga. The Kali-yuga means the fourth age. There are four different kinds of ages: Satya-yuga, Tretā-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga and Kali-yuga. Just like there are six seasons, or four seasons, in a year, similarly, in one day of Brahmā there are one hundred cycles of four yugas.
Four yugas means . . . forty-three thousand . . . forty-three hundred thousands of years. It is very long. That is the duration of four yugas. Similarly, one thousand yugas passes, then one day of Brahmā finished, twelve hours. It is a big calculation. Anyway, there are four yuga: this Satya-yuga, Dvāpara-yuga, Tretā-yuga and Kali-yuga.