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Kalki
Kalki on horse
Devanagari	कल्कि
Sanskrit transliteration	Kalki
Affiliation	Tenth avatar of Vishnu
Abode	Shambhala
Weapon	Ratna Maru (sword) (weapon of Shiva) Bow and arrow (sometimes)
Texts	Bhagavata Purana Garuda Purana Kalki Purana Padma Purana Vishnu Purana
Consort	Padma (Avatar of Lakshmi)

Kalki, also called kalkin, is the tenth avatar of Hindu god Vishnu to end the kali yuga, one of the four periods in endless cycle of existence (krita) in Vaishnavism cosmology. He is described in the Puranas as the avatar who rejuvenates existence by ending the darkest and destructive period to remove adharma and ushering in the Satya Yuga, while riding a white horse with a fiery sword. The description and details of Kalki is inconsistent among the Puranic texts. He is, for example, only an invisible force destroying evil and chaos in some texts, an actual person who kills those who persecute others and leading an army of Brahmin warriors in some. His mythology has been compared to the concepts of Messiah, Apocalypse, Frashokereti and Maitreya in other religions.

Kalki is also found in Buddhist texts. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Kalachakra-Tantra describes 25 rulers, each named Kalki who rule from the heavenly Shambhala. The last Kalki of Shambhala destroys a barbarian Muslim army, after which Buddhism flourishes. This text is dated to about 10th-century CE.

Etymology

The name Kalki is derived based Kali, which means "present age" (kali yuga).

Description

Part of a series on
Vaishnavism
Supreme deity Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities Dashavatara Matsya Kurma Varaha Narasimha Vamana Parasurama Rama Balarama Krishna Buddha Kalki Other forms Dhanvantari Guruvayurappan Hayagriva Jagannath Mohini Nara-Narayana Prithu Shrinathji Venkateshvara Vithoba Consorts Lakshmi Bhumi Sita Radha Rukmini Alamelu Related Garuda Hanuman Shesha Shasta
Holy scriptures Vedas Upanishads Vaikhanasa Pancharatra Bhagavad Gita Mahabharata Ramayana Harivamsa Divya Prabandha Gita Govinda Puranas Vishnu Bhagavata Naradiya Garuda Padma Agni
Sampradayas Sri (Vishishtadvaita, Akshar Purushottam Darshan) Rudra (Śuddhādvaita) Kumara (Dvaitadvaita) Brahma (Tattvavada or (Dvaita)), Acintyabhedabheda) Others Ekasarana Dharma Mahanubhava Pranami Radha Vallabha Ramsnehi Sant Mat Vaishnava-Sahajiya Warkari
Teachers—acharyas Chaitanya Chakradhara Dadu Dayal Harivansh Jayatirtha Jiva Goswami Jñāneśvara Kabir Madhavdev Madhvacharya Manavala Mamunigal Namadeva Nammalvar Nathamuni Nimbarka Srinivasacharya Padmanabha Tirtha Pillai Lokacharya Purandara Dasa Raghuttama Tirtha Raghavendra Tirtha Ram Charan Ramananda Ramanuja Ravidas Satyanatha Tirtha Satyabhinava Tirtha Satyabodha Tirtha Satyadharma Tirtha Satyadhyana Tirtha Samarth Ramdas Sankardev Swaminarayan Sripadaraja Tukaram Tulsidas Vallabha Vedanta Desika Vidyapati Vishnuswami Viṭṭhalanātha Vyasatirtha Vadiraja Tirtha Yamunacharya
Related traditions Bhagavatism Vaikhanasas Pancharatra Tenkalai Vadakalai Munitraya Krishnaism Jagannathism Haridasa Sahajiya Baul Pushtimarg Gaudiya ISKCON Ramanandi Kapadi Balmiki Kabir panth Dadu panth Mahanam
v t e

Kalki is an avatara of Vishnu. Avatara means "descent" and refers to a descent of the divine into the material realm of human existence. The Garuda Purana lists ten avatars, with Kalki being the tenth. He is described as the avatar who appears at the end of the Kali Yuga. He ends the darkest, degenerating and chaotic stage of the Kali yuga (period) to remove adharma and ushers in the Satya Yuga, while riding a white horse with a fiery sword. He restarts a new cycle of time. He is described as a Brahmin warrior in the Puranas.

The concept and the legend of Kalki is not found in the Vedic texts, nor in Sutras or other early post-Vedic text. It appears predominantly in the Puranas. For example, the Vishnu Purana mentions Kalki.

Wheel of Time Tantra

The Buddhist text Kalachakra Tantra, the righteous kings are called Kalki (Kalkin, lit. chieftain) living in Sambhala. There are many Kalki in this text, each fighting barbarism, persecution and chaos. The last Kalki is called "Cakrin" and is predicted to end the chaos and degeneration by assembling a large army to eradicate the "forces of Islam". A great war and Armageddon will destroy the barbaric Muslim forces, states the text. According to Donald Lopez – a professor of Buddhist Studies, Kalki is predicted to start the new cycle of perfect era where "Buddhism will flourish, people will live long, happy lives and righteousness will reign supreme". The text is significant in establishing the chronology of the Kalki idea to be from post-7th century, probably the 9th or 10th century. Lopez states that the Buddhist text likely borrowed it from Hindu mythology. Other scholars, such as Yijiu Jin, state that the text originated in Central Asia in the 10th-century, and Tibetan literature picked up a version of it in India around 1027 CE.

Borrowed idea

According to John Mitchiner, the Kalki concept was likely borrowed "in some measure from similar Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian and other religions". Mitchner states that some Puranas such as the Yuga Purana do not mention Kalki and offer a different cosmology than the other Puranas. The Yuga Purana mythologizes in greater details the post-Maurya era Indo-Greek and Saka era, while the Manvantara theme containing the Kalki idea is mythologized greater in other Puranas. Alf Hiltebeitel states that the idea of Kalki appears for the first time in the great war epic Mahabharata, though the details about the Kalki therein vary from those in the Puranas. According to Hiltebeitel, Kalki is an extension of the Parasurama avatar legend where a Brahmin warrior destroys Kshatriyas who were abusing their power to spread chaos, evil and persecution of the powerless. The Epic character of Kalki restores dharma, restores justice in the world, but does not end the cycle of existence. The Kalki mythology in the Puranas may have been affected by ideas from West Asia.

Iconography

The iconography of Kalki portrays him in either two or four armed forms.

Kalki Purana

A minor text named Kalki Purana is a recent text, likely composed in Bengal. Its dting floruit is the 18th-century. In it, Kalki fights an evil army and returns to Sambhala to start the next yuga.

People claimed to be Kalki

Several people have already claimed to be the Kalki avatar and the promised redeemer in other religions. For example, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of Ahmadiyya movement, claimed to be the Kalki Avatar, as well as the Imam Mahdi. Similarly, the Bahai faith, that emerged from Islam and is a distinct religion, has identified Bahá'u'lláh as Kalki as well as the prophesized redeeming God at the end of the world, as claimed in Babism, Islam (Mahdi), Christianity (Messiah) and Buddhism (Maitreya).

See also

• Dashavatara
• End time
• Kali
• Koka and Vikoka
• Lord of Light
• Mahabharata
• Maitreya
• Ramayana
• Suchandra

References

1. ^ Wendy Doniger; Merriam-Webster, Inc (1999). Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 629. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
2. Manmatha Nath Dutt, tr., The Garuda Puranam (1908), p. 4
3. ^ Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
4. ^ Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2015). Buddhism in Practice. Princeton University Press. pp. 202–204. ISBN 978-1-4008-8007-2.
5. ^ Perry Schmidt-Leukel (2017). Religious Pluralism and Interreligious Theology: The Gifford Lectures. Orbis. pp. 220–222. ISBN 978-1-60833-695-1.
6. ^ Björn Dahla (2006). Exercising Power: The Role of Religions in Concord and Conflict. Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. pp. 90–91. ISBN 978-952-12-1811-8., Quote: "(...) the Shambala-bodhisattva-king and his army will defeat and destroy the enemy army, the barbarian Muslim army and their religion, in a kind of Buddhist Armadgeddon. Thereafter Buddhism will prevail.";
   David Burton (2017). Buddhism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation. Taylor & Francis. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-351-83859-7.
   Johan Elverskog (2011). Anna Akasoy; et al. (eds.). Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes. Ashgate Publishing. pp. 293–310. ISBN 978-0-7546-6956-2. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |editor= (help)
7. Klaus K. Klostermaier (2006). Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-88920-743-1.
8. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 73.
9. Ludo Rocher (22 March 2004). Ralph M. Rosen (ed.). Time and Temporality in the Ancient World. UPenn Museum of Archaeology. pp. 91–93. ISBN 978-1-931707-67-1.
10. Wilson, Horace (2001). Vishnu Purana. Ganesha Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 1-86210-016-0.
11. ^ Yijiu JIN (2017). Islam. BRILL Academic. pp. 49–52. ISBN 978-90-474-2800-8.
12. John E. Mitchiner (2000). Traditions Of The Seven Rsis. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 69–76. ISBN 978-81-208-1324-3.
13. ^ Alf Hiltebeitel (2011). Reading the Fifth Veda: Studies on the Mahābhārata - Essays by Alf Hiltebeitel. BRILL Academic. pp. 89–110, 530–531. ISBN 90-04-18566-6.
14. Alf Hiltebeitel (2011). Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 288–292. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
15. Klaus K. Klostermaier (2006). Mythologies and Philosophies of Salvation in the Theistic Traditions of India. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-88920-743-1.
16. Rocher 1986, p. 183 with footnotes.
17. Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). Oxford Handbook of Global Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 520. ISBN 978-0-19-513798-9, ISBN (Ten digit): 0195137981.
18. Daniel E Bassuk (1987). Incarnation in Hinduism and Christianity: The Myth of the God-Man. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-1-349-08642-9.
19. John M. Robertson (2012). Tough Guys and True Believers: Managing Authoritarian Men in the Psychotherapy Room. Routledge. pp. 62–63. ISBN 978-1-136-81774-8.

Bibliography

• Bryant, Edwin Francis (2007). Krishna: A Sourcebook. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-803400-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dimmitt, Cornelia; van Buitenen, J. A. B. (2012). Classical Hindu Mythology: A Reader in the Sanskrit Puranas. Temple University Press (1st Edition: 1977). ISBN 978-1-4399-0464-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Dalal, Rosen (2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin. ISBN 978-8184752779. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Flood, Gavin (1996). An Introduction to Hinduism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-43878-0. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Ariel Glucklich (2008). The Strides of Vishnu : Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective: Hindu Culture in Historical Perspective. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-971825-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Johnson, W.J. (2009). A Dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861025-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rao, Velcheru Narayana (1993). "Purana as Brahminic Ideology". In Doniger Wendy (ed.). Purana Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-1381-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rocher, Ludo (1986). The Puranas. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3447025225. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

v t e Avatars of Vishnu
Dashavatara (for example)	Matsya Kurma Varaha Narasimha Vamana Parashurama Rama Balarama Krishna Buddha Kalki
Other avatars	Four Kumaras Narada Nara-Narayana Kapila Dattatreya Yajna Rishabha Prithu Dhanvantari Mohini Vyasa Prsnigarbha Hayagriva Hamsa
The list of the "ten avatars" varies regionally. Two substitutions involve Balarama, Krishna, and Buddha. Krishna is almost always included; in exceptions, he is considered the source of all avatars.

v t e Hindu deities and texts
Gods	Trimurti Brahma Vishnu Shiva Agni Ashvins Chandra Dattatreya Ganesha Hanuman Indra Kama Kartikeya Krishna Kubera Rama Shasta Surya Varuna Vayu Vishvakarma Yama more
Goddesses	Tridevi Saraswati Lakshmi Parvati Aditi Bhumi Chhaya Durga Ganga Shachi Kali Mahadevi Mahavidya Matangi Matrikas Radha Rati Rohini Rukmini Sanjna Sati Shakti Shashthi Sita more
Other deities	Apsaras Asuras Daitya Danava Devata Dikpāla Gandharvas Gana Kuladevatas Gramadevatas Rakshasas Vahanas Yakshas / Yakshini
Texts (list)	Vedas Rig Sama Yajur Atharva Upanishads Puranas Ramayana Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita Yoga Sutras of Patanjali more
Hinduism Hindu mythology

• Forms of Vishnu
• Hindu eschatology
• Hindu philosophical concepts
• Messianism