Kalki Avatar (Image courtesy of Late Sri G. K. Haldipurkar and Aniruddha Haldipurkar, Karwar); Image Source: Raja Ravi Varma

ORIGIN

Kalki is the tenth reincarnation of lord Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation. He is deemed to be the final avatar of god Vishnu. From the beginning of time, Vishnu has been taking the forms of various humans and animals on the planet. According to ancient Hindu scriptures such as Garuda Purana, Vishnu will bless the planet a total of ten times by taking such reincarnations collectively known as Dashavatar. It is believed that as the preserver of life, this Hindu god takes birth as a mortal to relinquish evil. His avatars are given birth to when the good of the world is dominated by negative forces or powers. Vishnu then takes the responsibility upon himself to maintain the equilibrium and keep the balance in the world. When adharma, or unjust practices which do not follow the Hindu code of conduct, is present in an enormous amount in the world, it has to be eradicated or brought down for a proper functioning. Vaaman, Buddha, Parshuram too are some such reincarnations.

SIGNIFICANCE

The name Kalki is derived from the Sanskrit word for time, Kal. Kalki is predicted to bring an end to Kalyug, an entire era according to Hinduism, along with Tretayug, Satyug and Dwaparyug. This shall then mark the end of one of the cycles of life before it could all commence once again. Essentially, it is the Maha Pralay or the destruction of the universe which would be brought forth by Kalki himself. Unlike all the other nine avatars, Kalki is yet to be born and would emerge only when the Kalyug is about to end. As the current cycle of various eras of time would draw to a close, Kalki would also be the bearer of the onset of Satyug.

One of the theories around Kalki’s presence is for him to remove people who do not live by the order of religion. It is assumed that an evil person or entity by the name of Koli would have to be finished to restore peace on the planet. Although there might not be one person in particular in reality, there might be several social issues or discriminations which would have to be defeated.

Indian epics such as the great Bhagvat Gita cover the existence of Kalki. Furthermore, a french astrologer by the name of Nostradamus too has forecasted a similar possibility. His ideology suggested that a person with immense strength will alleviate the troubles of the world and eventually go on ruling it as well. He went on claiming that Thursday is the day Kalki would choose to take birth on the planet.

Several Hindu texts elaborate that the tenth reincarnation of Vishnu will be born to parents Visnu Yasa and Sumati in the Hindu month of Baishakh which falls around April.

PHYSICAL FORM

Kalki is believed to be seated on a white horse, blazing with energy, with a sharp sword in his hand. His white horse, who is known to be Devdutt, is a part of his existence as all his predictive images include it. This avatar too like Ram and Krishna would be that of a human.