Kalki Purana
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The Kalki Purana (कल्कि पुराण) is one of the Upapuranas. It covers the life and times of Sri Kalki, the 10th and final Maha Avatara of Lord Vishnu. It is a prophetic work which takes place in the far distant 4,320th century near the end of Kali Yuga. It was narrated by the story-teller Sootaji.
Although it is considered a Upapurana (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 Padamavata, (1540) written by the Sufi poet Malik Mohammad Jayasi (मलिक मोहम्मद जायसी) (1477-1542).[1]
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[edit] Events Depicted in the Kalki Purana
[edit] 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. Then the first stage of the Kali Yuga begins, when 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 ascend to earth to fix these problems of the Kali Yuga.
[edit] Kalki Comes to Earth
Lord Vishnu comes to earth in the home of Sumati,[2] the wife of the Brahmin Vishnuyasha.[3] Kalki will be born on "a bright fortnight of the lunar month of Vaishakha [beginning on approximately 21 April and ending on approximately 21 May on the solar calendar], on the 12th lunar tithi (Dvadashi)", 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.[4]
[edit] 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 and accept the God-given winged steed, the celestial parrot 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.[5] 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.
[edit] 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 (Demon), including the demon generals Koka and Vikoka fighting against Kalki and the Devas. The Kali (Demon) will be defeated at the hands of Dharma and the personification of the Satya Yuga. Koka and Vikoka are then killed by Kalki. Finally, Kalki will be challenged by, and intentionally accept defeat from, Raja Shashidhwaja[6], and marry the Raja's daughter, his second wife Ramaa, before the start of the Satya Yuga.
[edit] Satya 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. As Kalki had finished his work on earth of restoring peace and goodness to the earth, the Devas appear before him, requesting that he should 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.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Some sources put his lifespan from 1494-1592. [1]
- ^ Prior to Kalki, Sumati gave birth to three older sons: Kavi, Praagya and Sumantra.
- ^ 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).[2]
- ^ Parashurama is the 6th and only 'immortal' avatar of Lord Vishnu (who does not immediately return to Vaikunta).
- ^ These are not the same as the similarly named Gandharva guards who stood watch over Vaikunta. (See Ravana In Scriptures)
- ^ 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.
[edit] Sources
- B.K. Chaturvedi, Kalki Purana, Fusion Books (1969) ISBN 81-288-0588-6
- Text of Kalki Purana in Sanskrit
