Dharma the Bull

Four Legged Bull Called Dharma

There is a small story found in Srimad BhAgavatham. After being saved by Bhagavan Krishna in the womb of Uttara, Parikshit grew up to be a strong young man and assumed the responsibilities of a king. One day as he was taking a walk around his kingdom, he found a bull and a cow on the way. That bull was the personification of Dharma and the cow was that of Bhoomi Devi. What he saw there shocked the king. As he was approaching them the king saw someone hurting the bull and the cow very badly. The bull’s legs were broken. When he asked them for the reason slowly the bull started talking. He said that Dharma stands upright with four legs in Krita Yuga. In Treta Yuga it lost one of its legs and stood on three legs. In Dwapara Yuga things became bad and it lost one more leg and stood on two legs. Now in Kali Yuga things have become worse and Dharma is standing on just one leg.

What are these Four legs of Dharma and why are they lost ????

Sukhacharya says in BhAgavatham,

“Tapaha Shaucham DayA Satyam iti pAdAha krite kritaha.” Meaning: The four legs of Dharma are Tapaha, Shaucham DayA, and Satyam. In Krita, Yuga Dharma stands on all its four legs. As time passes and the yugas change, one by one the legs are broken and lost. But somehow, the last leg Satyam stood the test of time and is still existing in Kali Yuga,

At the end of Kali Yuga, it is said that Satyam will also lose its strength and the bull which is Dharma itself will be left without legs. Bhagavan Vishnu is said to take the tenth avatar Kalki to destroy evil and re-establish Dharma with all its four legs. That will mark the beginning of Krita Yuga again