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Kalki

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Kalki
Kalki on horse
Devanagariकल्कि
Sanskrit transliterationKalki
AffiliationTenth avatar of Vishnu
AbodeShambhala
WeaponRatna Maru (sword) (weapon of Shiva)
Bow and arrow (sometimes)
TextsMahabharat
Bhagavata Purana
Garuda Purana
Kalki Purana
Padma Purana
Vishnu Purana
ConsortPadma (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 are inconsistent among the Puranic texts. He is, for example, only an invisible force destroying evil and chaos in some texts, while an actual person who kills those who persecute others, and portrayed as someone 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). The literal meaning of Kalki is "dirty, sinful", which states Brockington does not make sense in the avatara context. This has led scholars such as Otto Schrader to suggest that the original term may have been karki (white, from the horse) which morphed into Kalki. This proposal is supported by two versions of Mahabharata manuscripts (e.g. the G3.6 manuscript) that have been found, where the Sanskrit verses name the avatar to be "karki", rather than "kalki".

Description

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Vaishnavism
Closeup of Vishnu, seated in the lotus position on a lotus. From depiction of the poet Jayadeva bowing to Vishnu, Gouache on paper Pahari, The very picture of devotion, bare-bodied, head bowed, legs crossed and hands folded, Jayadeva stands at left, with the implements of worship placed before the lotus-seat of Vishnu who sits there, blessing the poet.
Supreme deity
Vishnu / Krishna / Rama
Important deities
Dashavatara
Other forms
Consorts
Related
Holy scriptures
Puranas
Sampradayas
Others
Teachers—acharyas
Related traditions

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.

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.

Development

The concept and the legend of Kalki first appears in sections of Mahabharata, but Kalki is conceptualized differently compared to Puranas. Kalki appears predominantly in the Puranas such as Vishnu Purana, Matsya Purana, Bhagavata Purana. However, the details relating the Kalki mythologies are divergent between the Epic and the Puranas, as well as within the Puranas.

There is no mention of Kalki in the Vedic literature. 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 Kalkin section in the Mahabharata occurs in the Markandeya section. There, states Luis Reimann, can "hardly be any doubt that the Markandeya section is a late addition to the Epic. Making Yudhisthira ask a question about conditions at the end of Kali and the beginning of Krta — something far removed from his own situation — is merely a device for justifying the inclusion of this subject matter in the Epic." The mention of Kalkin in the Mahabharata occurs only once, over the verses 3.188.85–3.189.6.

The contemporary era "clear and tidy" systematization of Kalki and the remaining nine avatars of Vishnu, states Cornelia Dimmitt, is a recent phenomenon. It is not so in any of the Maha-Puranas. They mention Kalki but barely once or twice. This scant coverage of Kalki is in contrast to the legends of Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Narasimha and Krishna, all of which are repeatedly and extensively described. Most have "no significant stories of Kalki at all", states Dimmitt, which likely was because just like the concept of the Buddha as a Vishnu avatar, the concept of Kalki was "somewhat in flux" when the major Puranas were being compiled.

According to Wendy Doniger, the millennial idea of "purifying savior" may have been brought into India in the 1st millennium CE by the Parthians when these ideas were rampant in Europe. This myth may have developed in the Hindu texts both as a reaction to the invasions of the Indian subcontinent by various armies over the centuries from its northwest, and the mythologies these invaders brought with them. Albrecht Friedrich Weber was one of the early Indologists to suggest that Kalki in Hindu literature may be an evidence of the influence of the West on Indian mythologies, in this case particularly of Gnostics. The concept of Kalki does not make sense in the more ancient cyclic conception of time in the Indian religions.

According to John Mitchiner, the Kalki concept was likely borrowed "in some measure from similar Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian and other religions". Mitchiner 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. Luis Gonzales-Reimann concurs with Mitchiner, stating that the Yuga Purana does not mention Kalkin. Outside of Yuga Purana, in other texts such as the sections 2.36 and 2.37 of the Vayu Purana, states Reimann, it is Kalkin who ends the Kali yuga, but a different character named Pramiti. Most historians, states Arvind Sharma, link the development of Kalki mythology in Hinduism to the suffering caused by foreign invasions.

The Kalki avatar appears in the historic Sikh texts, most notably in Dasam Granth as Nihakalanki, a text that is traditionally attributed to Guru Gobind Singh. The Chaubis Avatar (24 avatars) section mentions sage Matsyanra describing the appearance of Vishnu avatars to fight evil, greed, violence and ignorance. It includes Kalki as the twenty-fourth incarnation to lead the war between the forces of righteousness and unrighteousness, states Dhavan.

Iconography

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

Predictions about birth and arrival

The Indian texts state that Kalki will be born to Awejsirdenee and Bishenjun, or alternatively in the family of Sumati and Vishnuyasha. He appears at the end of Kaliyuga to restore the order of the world. Vishnuyasha is stated to be a prominent Brahmin headman of the village called Shambhala. He will become the king, a "Turner of the Wheel", and one who triumphs. He will eliminate all barbarians and robbers, end adharma, restart dharma, and save the good people. After that, humanity will be transformed and will prevail on earth, and the golden age will begin.

In the Kanchipuram temple, two relief Puranic panels depict Kalki, one relating to lunar (daughter-based) dynasty and another to solar (son-based) dynasty. In these panels, states D Dennis Hudson, the story depicted is in terms of Kalki fighting and defeating asura Kali. He rides a white horse called Devadatta, ends evil, purifies everyone's minds and consciousness, and heralds the start of Krita Yuga.

19th-century Dashavatara painting (from left): Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki.

Kalki Purana

A minor text named Kalki Purana is a recent text, likely composed in Bengal. Its dating floruit is the 18th-century. In the Kalki Purana, Kalki marries princess Padmavati, the daughter of Brhadratha of Simhala. He fights an evil army and many wars, ends evil but does not end existence. Kalki returns to Sambhala, inaugurates a new yuga for the good and then goes to heaven.

Related concepts

The Kalki concept has been compared to the concepts of Messiah and Apocalypse in Abrahamic religions, Frashokereti in Zoroastrianism and Maitreya in Buddhism.

People claimed to be Kalki

Several people have already claimed to be the Kalki avatar and the promised redeemer in other religions.

  • 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

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. ^ J. L. Brockington (1998). The Sanskrit Epics. BRILL Academic. pp. 287-288 with footnotes 126-127. ISBN 90-04-10260-4.
  9. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 73.
  10. 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.
  11. ^ Yijiu JIN (2017). Islam. BRILL Academic. pp. 49–52. ISBN 978-90-474-2800-8.
  12. The Hindus: An Alternative History, p.488, Wendy Doniger, Oxford University Press
  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. Wilson, Horace (2001). Vishnu Purana. Ganesha Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 1-86210-016-0.
  15. Roy, Janmajit. Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya. Atlantic Publishers. p. 39.
  16. Daniélou, Alain. The Myths and Gods of India: The Classic Work on Hindu Polytheism from the Princeton Bollingen Series. Inner Traditions / Bear & Co. p. 181.
  17. John E. Mitchiner (2000). Traditions Of The Seven Rsis. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 68–69 with footnotes. ISBN 978-81-208-1324-3.
  18. Rabiprasad Mishra (2000). Theory of Incarnation: Its Origin and Development in the Light of Vedic and Purāṇic References. Pratibha. p. 146. ISBN 978-81-7702-021-2., Quote: "Kalki as an incarnation of Visnu is not mentioned in the Vedic literature."
  19. Alf Hiltebeitel (2011). Dharma: Its Early History in Law, Religion, and Narrative. Oxford University Press. pp. 288–292. ISBN 978-0-19-539423-8.
  20. Luis González Reimann (2002). The Mahābhārata and the Yugas: India's Great Epic Poem and the Hindu System of World Ages. Peter Lang. pp. 89–99, quote is on page 97. ISBN 978-0-8204-5530-3.
  21. ^ Dimmitt & van Buitenen 2012, pp. 63–64
  22. ^ Wendy Doniger (2010). The Hindus: An Alternative History. Oxford University Press. pp. 485–486. ISBN 978-0-19-959334-7.
  23. Charles Hardwick (1863). Christ and Other Masters: An Historical Inquiry Into Some of the Chief Parallelisms and Contrasts Between Christianity and the Religious Systems of the Ancient World. Macmillan. pp. 329–330 with footnote.
  24. John E. Mitchiner (2000). Traditions Of The Seven Rsis. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-81-208-1324-3.
  25. John E. Mitchiner (2000). Traditions Of The Seven Rsis. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 69–76. ISBN 978-81-208-1324-3.
  26. Luis González-Reimann (2002). The Mahābhārata and the Yugas: India's Great Epic Poem and the Hindu System of World Ages. Peter Lang. pp. 95–99. ISBN 978-0-8204-5530-3.
  27. Luis González Reimann (2002). The Mahābhārata and the Yugas: India's Great Epic Poem and the Hindu System of World Ages. Peter Lang. pp. 112–113 note 39. ISBN 978-0-8204-5530-3.; Note: Reimann mentions some attempts to "identify both Pramiti and Kalkin with historical rulers".
  28. Arvind Sharma (2012). Religious Studies and Comparative Methodology: The Case for Reciprocal Illumination. State University of New York Press. pp. 244–245. ISBN 978-0-7914-8325-1.
  29. Robin Rinehart (2011). Debating the Dasam Granth. Oxford University Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-0-19-975506-6.
  30. W. H. McLeod (2003). Sikhs of the Khalsa: A History of the Khalsa Rahit. Oxford University Press. pp. 149–150. ISBN 978-0-19-565916-0.
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  32. 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.
  33. ^ Charles Russell Coulter; Patricia Turner (2013). Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge.
  34. ^ D Dennis Hudson (2008). The Body of God: An Emperor's Palace for Krishna in Eighth-Century Kanchipuram. Oxford University Press. pp. 333–340.
  35. Rocher 1986, p. 183.
  36. James R. Lewis; Inga B. Tollefsen. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements, Volume 2. Oxford University Press. p. 488.
  37. ^ J.A.B. van Buitenen (1987). The Mahabharata, Volume 2: Book 2. University of Chicago Press. p. 597-598.
  38. ^ Rocher 1986, p. 183 with footnotes.
  39. Juergensmeyer, Mark (2006). Oxford Handbook of Global Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 520. ISBN 978-0-19-513798-9, ISBN (Ten digit): 0195137981.
  40. 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.
  41. 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.
  42. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements, Volume 2, p.488, James R. Lewis, Inga B. Tollefsen, Oxford University Press
  43. "Who is Samael Aun Weor?". Samael.org. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  44. Sikand, Yoginder (2008). Pseudo-messianic movements in contemporary Muslim South Asia. Global Media Publications. p. 100.

Bibliography

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Avatars of Vishnu
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