Kalki Purana

TheKalki Purana(Sanskrit:कल्किपुराण,romanized:Kalkipurāṇa) is aVaishnava Hindu textabout the tenth avatar ofVishnunamedKalki.^[1]The Sanskrit text was likely composed inBengalduring an era when the region was being ruled by theBengal Sultanateor theMughal Empire.Wendy Doniger dates it to sometime between 1500 AD and 1700 AD. It has a floruit of 1726 AD based on a manuscript discovered inDhaka,Bangladesh.^[1]^[2]

Structure

It is not one of the 18Maha-Puranas(great Puranas), and is counted as anUpapuranaor secondary Purana. The extant text exists in many versions, which vary in structure and details. Some do not divide the text into sections and have about 35 chapters. One manuscript comprises threeaṃśas (sections) consisting 7 and 21 chapters respectively.^[3]

Content

Family lineage of Kalli

The beginning of theKalki PuranadescribesKali'slineage starting withBrahma,his great-great-grandfather, and ending with the birth of his children's children. Instead of being born of poison from the churning of the ocean of milk according to otherHindu texts,he is the product of a long line of incestuous monsters born from Brahma's back. Kali is the great-great-grandson ofBrahma.He is the son of Krodha (Anger) and his sister-turned-wife Himsa (Violence). He is the grandson of Dambha (Vanity) and his sisterMaya(Illusion). He is the great-grandson ofAdharma(Impropriety) and his wife, Mithya (Falsehood). Adharma was originally created from Brahma's back as a malinapataka (a very dark and deadly sinful object). Kali and his family were created by Brahma to hasten the dissolution of the cosmos after thepralayaperiod was over. When his family takes human form on earth, they further taint the hearts and minds of mankind to bring about the end of theDvapara Yugaand the beginning of theKali Yuga.During the first stage of the Kali Yuga, thevarnashramabreaks down and deific worship is forsaken by man. All through the second, third, and fourth stages, man forgets the name of god and no longer offersyajna(offerings) to thedevas.^[4]

Manifestation of Kalki on Earth

Brahmaand the devas approachVishnufor protection from the evils of the Kali Yuga. After listening to accounts of violence and injustice occurring in the universe, Vishnu promises to be born into the family of Vishnuyashas and Sumati. Everyone thinks that Kalki will be born in Shambala, while actually it doesn't refer to the birth place, instead it refers to the place of attaining Manifestation as Kalki in Sabarimala, spelled as Shambala over many ages & perceived as birth place while in reality it is the place of transformation, while the destined is ready & seek the Manifestation as kalki while it is of utmost necessity for his Rise as Kalki during the end of Kaliyug in the Interest & welfare of the Entire World,^[5].Many people will have to sacrifice their lives fighting for the birth of Kalki. At a young age, he is taught the holy scriptures on topics such asdharma,karma,artha,jñāna,and undertakes military training under the care of theParashurama(the sixth incarnation of Vishnu).^[6]Soon, Kalki worshipsShiva,who gets pleased by the devotion and provides him in return a divine white horse named Devadatta (a manifestation ofGaruda), a powerful sword, whereby its handle is bedecked with jewels, and a parrot named Shuka, who is an all-knower; the past, the present and the future.^[7]Other accessories are also given by otherdevas,devis,saints,and righteous kings. Kalki then marries princess Padmavati (an incarnation ofLakshmi), the daughter of King Vrihadratha and Queen Kaumudi of Simhala (the island of the lion) and princess Ramā, the daughter of King Shashidhvaja and Queen Sushanta.^[8]Kalki is also an incarnation of all Trimurthis Vishnu, Shiva & Brahma all three in one Avatar as Lakshmi Narayanan and marries Vaishnavi Devi as second wife who is an Avatar of Lakshmi with personification of all Tridevis Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Shakti & Goddess Saraswati in one form, incarnated as per the noon given by Lord Rama to Marry her in Kaliyug when he manifests as Kalki, as he will need the power of all Tridevis, the power of Goddess Lakshmi to protect the righteous and also the power of Goddess Shakti to destroy the evils and also the power of Saraswati with light and knowledge against darkness and for creation of Satya Yuga. Kalki fights in many wars, ends evil, including Kali and his entire family bloodline, which is wiped out by the avatar's generals; he perishes from wounds inflicted byDharmaandSatya Yugapersonified. Kalki, meanwhile, battles and simultaneously kills the asura's most powerful generals,Koka and Vikoka,twin asuras adept in the dark arts. Kalki then returns toShambalato rule, inaugurates a newyugafor the good and divides the earth among his generals. Sumati and Vishnuyasha, his parents, will then travel to the holy place of Badrikashrama, where they will live. Kalki then leaves the earth to go toVaikunthaas his dharma (duty) is completed.^[8]

Origin

The Kalki Purana is a relatively recent text, likely composed inBengal.Its datingterminus ante quemis the 18th-century.^[8]It is likely Bengal because its earliest manuscripts have been found in Bengal, and these are Sanskrit written in Bengali script, states the historian Sumit Sarkar. The colophons of these manuscripts places them in the 18th-century.^[9]According to the Indologist Wendy Doniger, theKalki Puranais broadly dated by scholars between 1500 and 1700 CE, though these earlier dates are "misguided conjectures". No manuscripts from or before the 17th-century are known.^[10]

Significance

According to Edwin Bernbaum, theKalki Puranais a Hindu version of Shambala and its mythology has many features found in the Buddhist counterpart.^[11]Other scholars such as John Newman state that Buddhists borrowed the Hindu concept of Kalki and adapted the concept in the textKalachakra Tantra.They combined their idea ofShambhalawith Kalki to reflect the theo-political situation they faced after the arrival of Islam in Central Asia and western Tibet.^[12]^[13]The Buddhist texts also mention a king named Kalki from Shambhala who leads an army to destroy the Muslim persecutors of dhamma; then after the victory of good over evil and attainment of religious freedoms, Kalki ushers in a new era. The Buddhist text is dated to about the 10th-century.^[14]^[15]^[16]While theKalachakra Tantralikely borrowed the Kalki concept, theKalki Puranapost dates theKalachakra Tantra.The much later era Buddhist textVimalaprabha,which comments onKalachakra Tantra,also mentions Kalki and provides details not found in Kalki Purana such as the Shambala being north of River Shita. According to John Newman, this river is also calledTarim Riverin central Asia (east Turkistan).^[17]

References

^^a ^bLudo Rocher (1986).The Purāṇas.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 183 with footnotes.ISBN 978-3-447-02522-5.
^Wendy Doniger (1988).Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism.Manchester University Press. p. 5.ISBN 978-0-7190-1867-1.
^Rocher, Ludo (1986). "The Purāṇas". In Jan Gonda (ed.).A History of Indian Literature.Vol. II, Epics and Sanskrit religious literature, Fasc.3. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 183.ISBN 3-447-02522-0.
^Chaturvedi, B.K.Kalki Purana.New Delhi: Diamond Books, 2004 (ISBN 81-288-0588-6)
^Kirk, James A. (1972).Stories of the Hindus: An Introduction Through Texts and Interpretation.Macmillan. p. 239.ISBN 978-0-02-563230-1.
^The Kalki Purana— English.p. 28.
^The Kalki Purana— English.pp. 33–34.
^^a ^b ^cRocher 1986,p. 183 with footnotes.
^Sarkar, S. (2018).Essays of a Lifetime: Reformers, Nationalists, Subalterns.State University of New York Press. pp. 347–350 with footnotes.ISBN 978-1-4384-7433-5.
^Doniger, Wendy (1988).Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism.Manchester University Press. p. 5.ISBN 978-0-7190-1867-1.
^Edwin Marshall Bernbaum (1980).The Myth of Śambhala in Buddhist and Hindu Mythology.University of California, Berkeley. pp. 18–27.
^John Newman (2015). Donald S. Lopez Jr. (ed.).Buddhism in Practice(Abridged ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 203.
^Sopa, Lhundub.The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context.Sambhala. pp. 83–84 with note 4.
^Yijiu JIN (2017).Islam.BRILL Academic. pp. 49–52.ISBN 978-90-474-2800-8.
^[a]Björn Dahla (2006).Exercising Power: The Role of Religions in Concord and Conflict.Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. pp. 90–91.ISBN 978-952-12-1811-8.,Quote:"(...) the Shambala-bodhisattva-king [Cakravartin Kalkin] and his army will defeat and destroy the enemy army, the barbarian Muslim army and their religion, in a kind of Buddhist Armadgeddon. Thereafter Buddhism will prevail.";
[b]David Burton (2017).Buddhism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation.Taylor & Francis. p. 193.ISBN 978-1-351-83859-7.
[c]Johan Elverskog (2011). Anna Akasoy; et al. (eds.).Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes.Ashgate Publishing. pp. 293–310.ISBN 978-0-7546-6956-2.
^John Newman (2015). Donald S. Lopez Jr. (ed.).Buddhism in Practice(Abridged ed.). Princeton University Press. pp. 202–205.
^John Newman (1985). Geshe Lhundub Sopa (ed.).The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context.Sambhala. pp. 56–78, 83–86 with notes.

Bibliography

Himanshu Aneria, Kalki Purana, Fusion Books (1969)ISBN 81-288-0588-6

External links

Media related toKalkiat Wikimedia Commons

[Rocher1986p183-1] Ludo Rocher (1986).The Purāṇas.Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 183 with footnotes.ISBN 978-3-447-02522-5.

[2] Wendy Doniger (1988).Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism.Manchester University Press. p. 5.ISBN 978-0-7190-1867-1.

[Rocher1986-3] Rocher, Ludo (1986). "The Purāṇas". In Jan Gonda (ed.).A History of Indian Literature.Vol. II, Epics and Sanskrit religious literature, Fasc.3. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 183.ISBN 3-447-02522-0.

[kalki-4] Chaturvedi, B.K.Kalki Purana.New Delhi: Diamond Books, 2004 (ISBN 81-288-0588-6)

[5] Kirk, James A. (1972).Stories of the Hindus: An Introduction Through Texts and Interpretation.Macmillan. p. 239.ISBN 978-0-02-563230-1.

[6] The Kalki Purana— English.p. 28.

[7] The Kalki Purana— English.pp. 33–34.

[FOOTNOTERocher1986183_with_footnotes-8] Rocher 1986,p. 183 with footnotes.

[9] Sarkar, S. (2018).Essays of a Lifetime: Reformers, Nationalists, Subalterns.State University of New York Press. pp. 347–350 with footnotes.ISBN 978-1-4384-7433-5.

[10] Doniger, Wendy (1988).Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism.Manchester University Press. p. 5.ISBN 978-0-7190-1867-1.

[11] Edwin Marshall Bernbaum (1980).The Myth of Śambhala in Buddhist and Hindu Mythology.University of California, Berkeley. pp. 18–27.

[12] John Newman (2015). Donald S. Lopez Jr. (ed.).Buddhism in Practice(Abridged ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 203.

[Sopa83-13] Sopa, Lhundub.The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context.Sambhala. pp. 83–84 with note 4.

[JIN2017p49-14] Yijiu JIN (2017).Islam.BRILL Academic. pp. 49–52.ISBN 978-90-474-2800-8.

[Dahla2006p90-15] [a]Björn Dahla (2006).Exercising Power: The Role of Religions in Concord and Conflict.Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History. pp. 90–91.ISBN 978-952-12-1811-8.,Quote:"(...) the Shambala-bodhisattva-king [Cakravartin Kalkin] and his army will defeat and destroy the enemy army, the barbarian Muslim army and their religion, in a kind of Buddhist Armadgeddon. Thereafter Buddhism will prevail.";
[b]David Burton (2017).Buddhism: A Contemporary Philosophical Investigation.Taylor & Francis. p. 193.ISBN 978-1-351-83859-7.
[c]Johan Elverskog (2011). Anna Akasoy; et al. (eds.).Islam and Tibet: Interactions Along the Musk Routes.Ashgate Publishing. pp. 293–310.ISBN 978-0-7546-6956-2.

[16] John Newman (2015). Donald S. Lopez Jr. (ed.).Buddhism in Practice(Abridged ed.). Princeton University Press. pp. 202–205.

[17] John Newman (1985). Geshe Lhundub Sopa (ed.).The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context.Sambhala. pp. 56–78, 83–86 with notes.

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v t e Puranas
Mahapurana	Brahma Brahmanda Brahma Vaivarta Markendeya Bhavishya Vamana Vishnu Bhagavata Naradiya Garuda Padma Varaha Vayu Linga Skanda Agni Matsya Kurma Shiva
Upapurana	Brihaddharma Sanat-kumara Purana Ganesha Kalki Kalika Kapila Mudgala Narasimha Samba Saura Shivarahasya Vishnudharmottara