Avatar 10 of 10 · Kali Yuga
Kalki
The tenth avatar, still to come: Kalki, who will ride a white horse with a blazing sword at the end of this age, the Kali Yuga, and begin a new age of truth.
- His form
- The one to come
- Kali Yuga
- His day
- Kalki Jayanti
- Shravana Shukla Shashthi
The story
The Puranas say that as the Kali Yuga nears its end, truth and kindness will grow faint, rulers will rob their people, and dharma will be all but lost.
Then Vishnu will be born as Kalki, to a brahmin named Vishnuyasha in the village of Shambhala. Taught by Parashurama, he will ride the white horse Devadatta with a blazing sword and end the reign of the wicked.
With him the age will turn, and a new Satya Yuga, an age of truth, will begin, and the wheel of the four ages will go round again.
Why he came
To end the darkness of the Kali Yuga and begin a new age of truth.
How he is shown
As a warrior on a white horse, sword raised.
His verse
म्लेच्छनिवहनिधने कलयसि करवालं धूमकेतुमिव किमपि करालम्।
केशव धृतकल्किशरीर जय जगदीश हरे॥
Mleccha nivaha nidhane kalayasi karavalam, dhumaketum iva kim api karalam;
Keshava dhrita kalki sharira, jaya Jagadisha Hare.
To destroy the hordes of the wicked (the verse says mlecchas, those outside dharma) you wield a sword, fearsome as a comet, in the body of Kalki. O Keshava, glory to you, Lord of the world, Hari!
दुष्टों के झुंडों का नाश करने के लिए (श्लोक उन्हें म्लेच्छ कहता है, जो धर्म से बाहर हैं) आप पुच्छल तारे जैसी भयानक तलवार चलाते हैं, कल्कि के शरीर में। हे केशव, आपकी जय, जगत के स्वामी हरि!
His day
Kalki Jayanti
Shravana Shukla Shashthi, the sixth day of the bright half of Shravana (July or August)
Where he is worshipped
- Kalki TempleJaipur, Rajasthan
Questions
When will Kalki come?
At the end of the Kali Yuga, which the Puranas reckon is still very far off.
Where is Kalki to be born?
In a village called Shambhala; many place it at Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh.