Kalki Caritra (Narasiṃha Purāṇa)
Chapter 54 of the Narasiṃha Purāṇa tells of the Kalki avatāra (descent) of Bhagavān Vishṇu at the end of Kali Yuga. It then describes the Kali Yuga in detail: how dharma falls apart in every varṇa and āśrama. It ends with the remedy. In Kali Yuga the saṃkīrtana (loud chanting) of the name of Hari protects the devotee from every trouble of the age.
The birth of Kalki
At the end of Kali Yuga, when adharma has grown to its fullest and dharma has gone away completely, Bhagavān Vishṇu will be born as Kalki in the village of Śambhala. His father will be a brāhmaṇa named Vishṇuyaśa (he whose glory is Vishṇu). Kalki will be born with divine weapons and power, riding a swift horse.
Kalki restores dharma
Kalki will ride out with his divine sword. He will destroy the armies of the mlecchas, the people who have given up Vedic dharma. He will clear the earth of all rulers who follow adharma and of their forces.
After this great cleansing, Kalki will perform the Bahukāñcana yajña, the great golden yajña. It will bring back the sacred fire, the Vedas and the order of ritual that Kali Yuga had put down. Through this yajña and Kalki’s rule, dharma will be fully set up again and a new Kṛta Yuga will begin.
The signs of Kali Yuga
The Narasiṃha Purāṇa gives a long description of how society falls in Kali Yuga. These are the conditions it declares for the age.
Brāhmaṇas and knowledge
- Brāhmaṇas will not study the Vedas. They will give up Vedic learning and turn to music and entertainment.
- Brāhmaṇas will serve śūdras as workers, and śūdras will become teachers of dharma.
- Brāhmaṇas will perform pūjā and yajña for show and for their own gain, not for dharma.
- They will sell the puṇya of dāna (giving), yajña and japa for money.
- They will take gifts from caṇḍālas and other unfit givers.
- People who drink alcohol will teach brahma-jñāna (knowledge of Brahman).
- Brāhmaṇas will become attached to food given by others (parabhuktipara).
The order of the varṇas
- All four varṇas will mix, and the differences between varṇas will fall away.
- There will be varṇa-saṅkara (mixing of varṇas) on a wide scale, and the difference between guru and śishya (pupil) will vanish.
- Śūdras will wear the marks of sannyāsis, the kashāya robes, the jaṭā (matted hair) and bhasma (ash), for their own comfort.
- Sons will hate their fathers, pupils will disrespect their teachers, and women will disrespect their husbands.
Kings and rule
- Kings and their soldiers will trouble and oppress the people for wealth.
- Thieves will wait along the roads.
- No one will respect elders, and each person will claim to know everything.
Society and women
- Women will be unfaithful to their husbands.
- Everyone will be driven by greed, and wicked actions will increase.
- Wealth alone will decide who is honoured in society.
- Dogs will outnumber cows.
- Clouds will not rain evenly, and some regions will suffer drought.
Dharma
- People who keep dharma will be laughed at with envy.
- Vratas (vows) will not be kept.
- Brāhmaṇas will find fault with the Vedas and reject yajña and homa (fire offering) with clever arguments (hetuvāda).
- In the first quarter of Kali Yuga, people will already begin to speak ill of Bhagavān Śrī Hari.
- At the very end of Kali Yuga, no one will even remember the name of Hari.
The protection from Kali: harināma
After this full account of the troubles of Kali Yuga, the chapter at once gives the remedy. “Only the bhaktas of Vishṇu will not be troubled by Kali.”
The Narasiṃha Purāṇa gives a comparison of the main sādhanā (practice) of each yuga and its power.
| Yuga | Main sādhanā | Comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Kṛta | Tapas | 10 years of tapas gives a result |
| Tretā | Dhyāna (meditation) | 1 year gives what 10 years give in Kṛta |
| Dvāpara | Yajña | 1 month gives what 1 year gives in Tretā |
| Kali | Nāma-saṃkīrtana | 1 day gives what 1 month gives in Dvāpara |
What takes ten years of tapas in Kṛta Yuga is gained by one year of dhyāna in Tretā, by one month of yajña in Dvāpara, and by one day of nāma-saṃkīrtana of Nārāyaṇa in Kali.
The chapter says the same thing in another way. What Satya Yuga gains through dhyāna, Tretā through yajña and Dvāpara through arcana (image worship), is gained in Kali by only speaking the name of Nārāyaṇa.
The names given are Śrī Hari, Keśava, Govinda, Vāsudeva, Jaganmaya, Janārdana, Jagatpālaka, Pītāmbara, Acyuta, Nārāyaṇa and Mādhava. To speak even one of these names protects the devotee from every trouble of Kali Yuga.
Even those who only keep company with a bhakta of Vishṇu, or who hear the name of Bhagavān Vishṇu, become blessed. If a person does harināma-japa, kīrtana and pūjā in Kali Yuga, even in an imperfect way, he is freed without doubt. Harināma-saṃkīrtana also gives Vishṇu-sāyujya, union with Bhagavān Vishṇu himself, as its final fruit.
Sources
- Narasiṃha Purāṇa, Chapter 54