Kalki

Kalki is the tenth and last of the Daśāvatāra, the ten avatāras (descents) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. He is the form of Bhagavān Vishṇu who will appear at the end of the Kali Yuga. The Purāṇas say that he will destroy the mlecchas (barbarians), the thieves and the corrupt rulers, and will restore dharma and the varṇa order.

Who Kalki is

The Varāha Mahā Purāṇa describes Kalki’s nature with these names:

• Mahātman, the great soul
• Sanātana, the eternal
• Brahma-maya, of the nature of Brahman
• Purātana, the ancient one

He takes birth in each yuga under the name Kalki, to set the varṇas right (varṇān saṃsthāpayishyati), and he appears in many forms. Even devas, siddhas (perfected beings) and daityas cannot see his true form. Only the path of vijñāna (spiritual knowledge and discernment) leads to seeing it.

The Daśāvatāra stotra on Kalki (Varāha Purāṇa, Chapter 15)

In the Daśāvatāra stotra (hymn of praise), Gauramukha says that Prabhu Vishṇu is great-souled, eternal, of the nature of Brahman and ancient. In each yuga he comes as Kalki, correcting the varṇas and taking many forms. Even devas, siddhas and daityas cannot see that form. The path of vijñāna is the only way, and there is no other. Yama and the other devas offer pūjā to the forms he has already taken, Matsya and the rest. For this reason Gauramukha prays that Bhagavān Vishṇu protect us.

The stotra links Kalki’s hidden nature to the reason why all the devas honour the earlier avatāra forms. The true form of Kalki cannot be known except through pure spiritual discernment.

Kalki Dvādaśī in the month of Bhādrapada (Varāha Purāṇa, Chapter 48)

Archanā mantras

On Kalki Dvādaśī, the Varāha Purāṇa gives these mantras for the archanā (offering of pūjā), one for each part of the image.

Oṃ namas Kalkine

Offered at the feet.

Namo Hṛshīkeśāya

Offered at the waist.

Namo mleccha-vidhvaṃsanāya jagat-mūrtaye

Offered at the belly.

Namaḥ śitikaṇṭhāya

Offered at the throat.

Namaḥ khaḍgapāṇaye

Offered at the arms. The name means “the bearer of the sword in his hand”.

Namaś catur-bhujāya

Offered to the four-armed form.

Namo viśvamūrtaye

Offered at the head.

The image

A gold image of Kalki is placed in a kumbha (water pot) with white cloths. It receives pūjā with flowers. At sunrise on Dvādaśī it is given as a gift to a brāhmaṇa.

The example of King Viśāla of Kāśī

King Viśāla of Kāśī lost his kingdom to his own kinsmen (jñātis). He went alone to Mount Gandhamādana and settled in the lovely Badarī forest. There he meditated deeply on Paramabrahma Bhagavān Vishṇu.

The ṛshis Nara and Nārāyaṇa came to him and said that they saw his pāpa (sin) was gone, and that they had come to give him a vara (boon). Viśāla answered that he did not know who they were, and that he would ask for a vara only from the one he was already offering pūjā to. They were pleased and said that they gave varas through the grace of that very Bhagavān Vishṇu whom he served.

Viśāla then asked for the power to perform yajñas (fire rituals) with many dakshiṇās (gifts to the priests), so that he could honour Yajñeśvara Deva properly. The ṛshis Nara and Nārāyaṇa taught him the vrata (vow) of Bhādrapada Dvādaśī. Viśāla kept it and became a great cakravartī (universal ruler). Badarī was named after him, as Viśāla, and so this sacred place is also called Badarī-Viśāla. In his life he performed many yajñas, and in the end he reached moksha (liberation).

Nara and Nārāyaṇa’s guide to the avatāras (Chapter 48)

At this point in the text the ṛshis give a full practical guide. It shows which avatāra to honour for which aim.

The chapter states the purpose plainly: to defeat enemies, honour Kalki.

Kalki in the Kali Yuga

A Purāṇa passage, given as Chapter 10, says that in Kali, Nārāyaṇa Deva takes many forms (bahu-rūpa) and is born as Kalki.

The Kalki Purāṇa account of Kalki’s life (Prathamāmśa, Chapters 1–7)

The Kalki Purāṇa gives the life of Kalki in order, in its Prathamāmśa, Chapters 1–7.

The divine plan and promise

The Kali Yuga reached its lowest point. Yajñas, Vedic recitation and right conduct had almost vanished. The devas, with Bhūdevī, went to Brahmā. Brahmā led them to Bhagavān Vishṇu in Goloka. Bhagavān Vishṇu himself told them his plan. He would be born in Śambhala, in the house of the brāhmaṇa Vishṇuyaśas, as the youngest of four sons. His mother would be Sumatī. His wife would be Padmā, an avatāra of Lakshmīdevī, born in Siṃhala Dvīpa. After destroying Kali, he would make Devāpi of the Candra dynasty and Maru of the Sūrya dynasty the rulers of the earth, and return to Vaikuṇṭha. (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 1–2)

Birth

Kalki was born in the month of Vaiśākha (Mādhava), on Śukla Dvādaśī, at a very auspicious moment when all the planets, nakshatras (lunar stars) and rāśis (zodiac signs) stood in perfect order. At his birth:

• All creation was filled with joy: rivers, oceans, mountains, plants, animals, ṛshis, devas and pitṛs.
• The Gandharvas played music of the devas and the Apsarās danced.
• Bhūdevī poured amṛta (the drink of immortality) as milk.
• Ambikā cut the umbilical cord and Sāvitrī bathed him in water of the Gaṅgā.
• The Saptamātṛkās (the seven Mothers) spoke blessings.
• Bhagavān Vishṇu first appeared in his four-armed divine form. At Brahmā’s request, brought by Vāyu, he took the two-armed human form instead. His parents, under Vishṇumāyā (the power of illusion of Bhagavān Vishṇu), believed they had only ever seen a two-armed infant.

(Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapter 2)

The naming ceremony

Four cirajīvins (those who live for ages), who came disguised as wandering mendicants, performed the naming:

• Paraśurāma, the Bhārgava ṛshi and son of Jamadagni
• Kṛpācārya, the eternal ācārya
• Vyāsa Maharshi, who arranged the Vedas
• Aśvatthāman, son of Droṇa

They knew the child as the destroyer of Kali. They bowed to him and named him Kalki. (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapter 2)

Family

• Father: Vishṇuyaśas, a brāhmaṇa of Śambhala
• Mother: Sumatī
• Brothers: Kavi (the eldest), Prājña (the second) and Sumantra (the third). Kalki is the youngest.
• Companions: Gārgya, Bhārgya and Viśāla, brāhmaṇas born into the community before Kalki
• Wife, as destined: Padmāvatī of Siṃhala Dvīpa, an avatāra of Lakshmīdevī

(Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 2–4)

The upanayana

When Kalki came of age, Vishṇuyaśas taught him about the Veda, which came from the mouth of Śrī Hari. He taught him the Gāyatrī, called the mother of the Veda, and the yajñopavīta (sacred thread), which stands for the three guṇas (qualities of nature) and for freedom from saṃsāra. He also described the ten saṃskāras (rites of passage) from garbhādhāna to samāvartana. After this teaching the upanayana (sacred thread ceremony) was performed. Kalki then left for a gurukula (the home of a teacher). (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapter 2)

Study with Paraśurāma

Paraśurāma, who lived on Mahendra Parvata, came to Kalki and declared himself his guru. Kalki studied under him:

• The four Vedas with their six Vedāṅgas
• Dhanurveda, the science of archery and warfare
• The sixty-four arts (catushshashṭi kalās)

At the end, Kalki asked what he should give as guru-dakshiṇā (the teacher’s gift). Paraśurāma knew Kalki as Bhagavān Vishṇu himself and said that seeing his divine mission was his reward. He then foretold that Kalki would receive a divine horse and a Śuka (parrot) from Bhagavān Śiva. He would win Padmāvatī of Siṃhala Dvīpa as his wife and conquer the earth in a digvijaya (conquest of all directions). He would destroy the Bauddhas and the kings who had fallen from dharma, set up Devāpi and Maru, and then return to Vaikuṇṭha. (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapter 3)

The gifts of Bhagavān Śiva

At the shrine of Bilvodeśvara Śiva, Kalki composed and recited a stotra of seven verses. Bhagavān Śiva appeared with Pārvatī and gave him three gifts:

1. A divine horse with the speed of Garuḍa, able to take many forms and to go to any place Kalki wishes.
2. A divine Śuka (parrot) that knows everything and speaks human speech. It is honoured in the assemblies of the devas, and it is Kalki’s messenger and adviser.
3. A khaḍga (sword) set with jewels, to destroy the burden of pāpa (sin) on the earth.

Bhagavān Śiva also declared that the seven-verse stotra recited by Kalki would fulfil every wish of anyone who recites it. (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapter 3)

Kalki teaches Viśākhayūpa

King Viśākhayūpa of Mahishmatī came to Śambhala. The moment he saw Kalki he became a bhakta (devotee) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. Kalki taught him the main points:

• All beings are parts (amśas) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. At pralaya (dissolution) all of them dissolve into him, and at creation he alone exists.
• Brāhmaṇas are his body, his Veda in human form.
• The Rājasūya and Aśvamedha yajñas are the king’s dharma.
• After the destruction of Kali, Devāpi and Maru will rule in the new Satya Yuga.

(Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 3–4)

The Śuka as messenger to Padmāvatī

The Śuka flew to Siṃhala Dvīpa and learned of Padmāvatī’s sorrow after her svayaṃvara (the ceremony where a bride chooses her husband). At that ceremony every king present had been turned into a woman by the vara of Bhagavān Śiva. Kalki sent the Śuka back as his own messenger with the words: “She is my beloved. I am her husband. This is divine destiny.” Through the Śuka, Padmāvatī told of the method of pūjā to Bhagavān Vishṇu, and of the sixteen-verse dhyāna-stotra (a hymn for meditation) that Bhagavān Śiva had taught her. (Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 5–7)

Kalki in the Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 16)

The Agni Purāṇa speaks of Kalki in its sixteenth chapter, together with the Buddha avatāra.

The fall of the Kali Yuga

The Agni Purāṇa describes a world in deep moral decline before Kalki comes. Mleccha kings wearing the outward dress of dharma rise to power. They oppress their subjects and take taxes without justice. The Vedic tradition shrinks, and only fifteen branches of the Vājasaneya Veda remain as the true measure of scripture. Those who have left the Vedic path, the followers of the teaching of the Buddha avatāra’s māyā (illusion), go on piling up adharma (wrong). They take gifts from the lowest people and gather pāpa (sin). At the end of the Kali Yuga they mix together in complete confusion. They lack śīla (moral discipline) and become little better than thieves. The right order of society falls apart. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16)

Kalki’s birth and work

In this time of widespread adharma, Bhagavān Vishṇu will be born as Kalki, son of Vishṇuyaśas, in the brāhmaṇa village of Śambhala. His purohita (family priest) and teacher will be the great ṛshi Yājñavalkya. Kalki will be highly skilled in arms and weapons. He will ride a white horse and carry a shining sword. With this divine weapon he will go out and destroy all the mleccha rulers and kings who have turned from dharma to adharma. He will then set the four varṇas back in their proper conduct and duties. He will put each of the four āśramas (stages of life) in its right place and bring the people back to the path of sat-dharma (true dharma). (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16)

The return of the Kṛtayuga and Kalki’s departure

When Kalki has finished his work, having destroyed the forces of adharma and set the varṇāśrama order in place again, Bhagavān Vishṇu leaves the Kalki form and returns to svarga (heaven). After his departure the cycle of the ages returns to its pure state. The Kṛtayuga begins again, as it was in the beginning. The varṇas and āśramas follow their dharma naturally, and the world is made new. The Agni Purāṇa adds that in this way Vishṇu takes countless avatāras in every kalpa and every manvantara (ages of the world), past and future, beyond all counting, for the sole purpose of keeping the order of dharma in creation. (Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16)

Kalki in the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 12th Skanda

The 12th Skanda, Chapter 2, of the Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa describes the deepening fall of the Kali Yuga and then names Kalki. Rulers become thieves, brāhmaṇas leave their dharma, and the whole varṇāśrama order collapses. Then Bhagavān Vishṇu will be born as Kalki, son of Vishṇuyaśas, in the village of Śambhala. He will ride a swift horse and carry a shining sword. He will travel over the earth and destroy all who have turned from dharma. When his work is done, the Kali Yuga ends, the Kṛtayuga begins once more, and the cycle of the four yugas starts again.

Devāpi and Maru are the two kings who live in the village of Kalāpa through the whole Kali Yuga, kept alive by the power of yoga (yogaśakti). They will receive Kalki’s upadeśa (teaching) and set up the varṇāśrama dharma again in the new Kṛtayuga. (Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 12th Skanda, Chapter 2)

Kalki in the Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva

The Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purāṇa gives a very full account of Kalki’s coming and what surrounds it. It begins in the fourth and last part (pāda) of the Kali Yuga, when all order has fallen. Human life has shrunk to twenty years. Every being who dies goes to naraka (hell). People live like water creatures and forest animals, with no culture. The narakas, Tāmisra and the others, fill with the souls (ātmās) of this age.

Viśvakarman’s bhrama-yantra

As the Kali Yuga deepens, divine powers resist the rule of the mlecchas. Viśvakarman made a divine bhrama-yantra, a spinning weapon-device, that Māya-māya, the mleccha magician, could not stop. From this yantra came Vātyuḍa, a great divine warrior born from the wind of the device. He began to destroy the mleccha forces in the region called Hariśkhaṇḍa. The mlecchas were overwhelmed and fled to the pātāla realms.

Kalki’s descent

When the time comes, Bhagavān Kalki comes down, born from the Purāṇa-purusha (the eternal divine Person). He carries a khaḍga (sword), a kavaca (armour) and a ḍhāla (shield), and rides a divine horse. He rides out and destroys the mlecchas who have the nature of daityas, all the forces of adharma, completely. After this destruction, Kalki enters a period of sixteen thousand years of tapas (austerity) in yogic absorption. In the fire of this tapas, all remaining impurity of the world is burned away and the world is made pure.

The Brahma-satra yajña

When his tapas is complete, Kalki performs the Brahma-satra yajña. Through this yajña, the Vedas, śāstras and Purāṇas, which had withdrawn from the world in the deepest part of the Kali Yuga, return in bodily form (mūrti-manta) and bow to Kalki. Sacred knowledge takes root again in the purified earth.

The Satya-yuga-purusha appears

On Kārtika Śukla Navamī, a Thursday, a supreme being comes out of the yajña-kuṇḍa (the fire pit). This is the Satya-yuga-purusha, the embodiment of the new Satya Yuga. Brahmā and all the devagaṇas (hosts of devas) who are gathered there bless this Navamī tithi (lunar day) as a pāpa-kshaya tithi, a day that destroys pāpa (sin), for all time. Whoever offers pūjā to his chosen deva under an āmalaka (gooseberry) tree on this day receives that deva’s grace without limit.

The solar line and the Satya Yuga

After Kalki’s avatāra ends, the remaining daityas come up from pātāla for a last battle against the devagaṇas. The devagaṇas fight for a whole divine year and win. The Paramahaṃsa, the divine swan-like one, protects the host of devagaṇas. In safety and freedom, the devagaṇas make Ikshvāku, son of Vaivasvata Manu, the ruler of the earth in Ayodhyā. The Satya Yuga begins. Ikshvāku rules for a hundred divine years. Human life rises to at least four hundred years. Dharma stands on all four feet: jñāna (knowledge), dhyāna (meditation), śama (calm) and dama (self-control). The whole cycle of creation begins again. (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 24–26)

Kalki in the Mahābhārata, Vana Parva (Chapter 190)

In the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata, Chapter 190, within the Mārkaṇḍeya Samāsyā Parva, Mārkaṇḍeya Maharshi tells the Pāṇḍavas about the decline of the Kali Yuga and the coming of Kalki.

The chapter first lists the growing signs of the Kali Yuga: people moving from place to place, widespread famine, the rise of mleccha rule, and the fall of right conduct in all the varṇas. Mārkaṇḍeya then gives the sign in the sky that marks the change from Kali to the new Kṛta Yuga. Guru (Jupiter), Sūrya (the Sun) and Candra (the Moon) come together in the Pushya nakshatra, in the conjunctions of the Mīna and Karkaṭa rāśis. When this rare meeting appears, it shows that the last phase of the Kali Yuga is ending.

At that time Kalki will be born in the village of Śambhala, in the family of the brāhmaṇa Vishṇuyaśā. He will rise as a great warrior and teacher and destroy the mleccha forces that have overrun the earth. When his work of destruction is done, Kalki will perform an Aśvamedha yajña, the highest yajña of universal rule, and then give the whole earth to the brāhmaṇas as dāna (a gift). This gift of the earth to the brāhmaṇas marks the formal end of the Kali Yuga and the setting up of the order of dharma again. The Kṛta Yuga then begins anew. (Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 190)

Sources

• Varāha Mahā Purāṇa, Chapters 15, 48
• Kalki Purāṇa, Prathamāmśa, Chapters 1–7
• Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 16
• Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, 12th Skanda, Chapter 2
• Bhavishya Purāṇa, Pratisarga Parva, Khaṇḍa 4, Chapters 24–26
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 190