Kalki Purana

The "Kalki Purana" (कल्कि पुराण) is a prophectic work that details the life and times of Sri Kalki, the tenth and final of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. The narrative is set in the distant 4,320th century, near the end of the Kali Yuga or Dark Age, as revealed by the storyteller Sootaji.

Although it is considered an Upapurana or 'Lesser Purana', it is derived from passages taken directly from the 18 'Major' Puranas, including the Vishnu Purana and the Bhagavata Purana ascribed to Vyasa. It is believed that the Kalki Purana existed prior to the 16th century CE as parts of it were referenced to in the Avadhi Sufi romance "Padmavat", (1540) written by the Sufi poet Malik Mohammad Jayasi (मलिक मोहम्मद जायसी) (1477-1542). [Some sources put his lifespan from 1494-1592. ( [http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routes/1500_1599/index_1500_1599.html see here] )]

ignificance

As a prophetic work, the Kalki Purana writes details about events believed by Hindus to occur in the future. The work is essentially a derivation of passages collected from various Puranas describing the same subject. The work primarily describes the onset and exponential increase of evil and sin on the earth during the Kali Yuga, and the life of Kalki, who is said to bring an end to the darkness of the Kali Yuga, destroying evil and sin, and beginning a new "yuga" (age) of sinlessness and peace known as the Satya Yuga.

Events Depicted in the Kalki Purana

Kali Yuga

As soon as Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, leaves the earth and returns to Vaikunta, the Kali Yuga will have begun. The Kali demon will rule the earth and bring sin and misery to the people. When the first stage of the Kali Yuga begins, the Indian caste system and varna system will break down. Soon after this, the second, third, and fourth stages of the Kali Yuga begin. Men will forget the name of God and no longer offer Yagna to the Devas. The Devas will gather before Brahma to seek a solution for this problem. Near the end of this yuga, the Devas will then journey to Vaikunta to seek help from Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu will then descend to Earth to fix these problems of the Kali Yuga.

Kalki Comes to Earth

Lord Vishnu comes to earth in the home of Sumati, [Prior to Kalki, Sumati gave birth to three older sons: Kavi, Praagya and Sumantra.] the wife of the Brahmin Vishnuyasha. [The Padma Purana (6.242.8-12) states that Vishnuyasha is actually an incarnation of Svayambhuva Manu, who performed great austerities to have the Lord as his child. He received the benediction that the Lord will appear as his son three times. Thus Svayambhuva Manu appears as Dasaratha (father of Rama), Vasudeva (father of Krishna) and finally as Vishnuyasha (father of Kalki). ( [http://www.salagram.net/kalki.html see here] )] Kalki will be born on "a bright fortnight of the lunar month of Vaishakha, on the twelfth lunar tithi (Dvadashi)," [Beginning on approximately 21 April and ending on approximately 21 May on the solar calendar.] and his childhood will be in the mystical kingdom of Shambhala. After the Chiranjeevin immortals gather in Shambhala, Kalki will begin martial training under Guru Parashurama. [Parashurama is the sixth and only 'immortal' avatar of Lord Vishnu.]

Life on Earth

Soon after his martial training under Guru Parashurama, Kalki will begin a long penance to Lord Shiva in the Himalayas. He will then receive the winged steed Devadatta (god-given), the celestial parrot [http://members.cox.net/apamnapat/entities/Shuka.html Shuka] (शुक), and the divine "Ratna Maru" sword from Lord Shiva. He will then marry Padma, the avatar of Vishnu’s heavenly consort Lakshmi and have two children, sons Jaya and Vijaya. [These are not the same as Jaya and Vijaya, Gandharva guards who stand watch over Vaikunta.] Kalki will then perform the Ashwamedha Sacriifice to rid the world of all wicked kings and false prophets, before proceeding to begin the final destruction of evil and misery in the Kali Yuga.

Destruction of Evil

One of the main reasons Lord Vishnu came to earth as Kalki was to destroy and defeat evil forces on earth. He began this with the battle, and eventual massacre, of the Sunyavadis, who have misled the people, at the city of Keekatpur. A war later begins with the dark forces of Kali, including the demon generals Koka and Vikoka fighting against Kalki and the Devas. Kali will be defeated at the hands of Dharma and the personification of the Satya Yuga, the evil's polar opposite. Koka and Vikoka are then killed by Kalki. Finally, Kalki will be challenged by, and intentionally accept defeat from, Raja Shashidhwaja, [The reason for this intentional defeat was that Raja Shashidhwaja was a great devotee of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had granted him a boon of defeating him on the battlefield.] and marry the Raja's daughter, his second wife Ramaa, before the start of the Satya Yuga.

atya Yuga

After the defeat and destruction of evil on earth, the Satya Yuga (Golden Age) begins. Kalki will divide the earth into earthly kingdoms among his generals, then perform the Ashwamedha and Rajasuya sacrifices for the Devas. Sumati and Vishnuyasha, his parents, will then travel to the holy place of Badrikashram, where they will live until their death. After the siring of Kalki's sons Meghamaal and Balahaka, Kalki will reign on earth for 1,000 years as the King of Shambhala. Having finished his mission of restoring peace, the Devas will appear before Kalki, requesting that he return to Vaikunta. After a ritual bath in the Ganges River, Kalki will reappear as Vishnu in his four-armed form, and return to Vaikunta.

Notes

ource

* B.K. Chaturvedi, Kalki Purana, Fusion Books (1969) ISBN 81-288-0588-6

External links

* [http://users.sch.gr/ioakenanid/purana.htm Text of Kalki Purana in Sanskrit]

ee also

*Ramayana
*Mahabharata