Descriptions of Kalki from sacred texts

In Hinduism, Kalki (literally meaning ‘destroyer of filth/darkness/ignorance’) is the tenth and final incarnation of Sri Maha Vishnu in the Kali Yuga, foretold to appear at the end of Kali Yuga to restore ‘Dharma’ on Earth and to lead the world into the ‘Krita Yuga’ (also called as ‘Satya Yuga’) where the society will be well-organized, systematic and peaceful. The minds of those who live at the end of Kali Yuga shall be awakened, and shall be as pellucid as crystal. The Dashavatara are Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Venkateshwara and Kalki in the order of manifestation. Among all these avataras, Kalki is the most powerful and most fierce. It is said that he will have all the powers of all the previous avataras combined, as the forces of darkness is in its peak stage and darkness dwelling in the minds of all people. The Srimad-Bhagavatam describes the birth of Kalki as “Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmana of Shambala village, the great souls Vishnuyasha and his wife, the pure of thought Sumati.”He will have ‘Yajnavalkya’ as his spiritual guru. Parashurama will teach him warfare and weaponry, and also instruct him in the performance of a severe penance in order to receive celestial weaponry.

The Bhagavata Purana states “At the end of Kali Yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so called saints and respectable gentlemen, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the evil men, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser.” The arrival of Kalki is described as “The ascetic prince, Lord Kalki, the Lord of the Universe, will mount his swift white horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting his eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying his unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, he will kill the millions of those thieves who have dared dress as kings.” Padma will be his consort as written in Kalki Purana. Padma is an incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Sri Maha Vishnu. It is said that Padma lives at an island named as ‘Simhala’.

The signs of birth of Kalki as described in Kalki Purana are “The moon will be in Dhanishta nakshatra (Aquarius), suggesting that he will be wealthy, acclaimed and swift in action and thought. The Sun will be in Swati, the nakshatra of the sword. Jupiter will be in Purva Ashada nakshatra (Sagittarius). The ascendant Lord will also be in Purva Ashada nakshatra (Sagittarius), suggesting invincibility and early victory. Saturn will be exalted in Libra, predicting a balance between justice and the sword. Ketu, lord of horse headed Ashwini, will be exalted in Scorpio, suggesting that he will descend atop a great white steed.” The Bhavishya Purana foretells: “The savior of the entire universe, Sri Maha Vishnu will be born on Margashira Month, Krishna Ashtami, 8^th day after the full moon day.”

Sri Pothuluri Veera Brahmendra Swami in his Kalagnanam foretold that at the end of Kali Yuga, he would arrive as ‘Sri Veera Bhoga Vasantaraya’ and would later become famous by the name ‘Kalki’. He explained the indications of his arrival along with the course of events to take place subsequently. He said that he would arrive as Lord Kalki when the Sun, moon, Venus and Jupiter enter the same sign. He would worship Lord Mallikarjuna (A manifestation of Lord Shiva) of Sri Sailam with ‘Pasupata Diksha’ (also called as Viraja Diksha). He would get a horse by name ‘Devadatta’, a parrot by name ‘Shuka’, a mighty sword named ‘Ratnamaru’, a celestial bow by name ‘Karmukam’, inexhaustible quiver by name ‘Akshaya Tooniram’ as boons from Lord Shiva. Again he would sit for penance in 'Sri Sailam'.

The Linga Purana, the Brahmanda Purana and the Vayu Purana give additional information about Lord Kalki. The Lord Kalki will wander over the planet without being seen by any living being. Then he will start his campaign in his thirty-second year and roam the earth for twenty years. He will take with him a big army of horses, chariots, and elephants, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of spiritually purified brahmanas armed with weapons. Though they may try to do battle with him, he will kill all heretics (and false prophets) and wicked, mleccha kings. When he fulfils his avatara dharma (duties of the manifestation), he will allow only a few people to remain spread over the planet who are purified by thought, and act as seeds for the generations to come that would live in the Satya Yuga. The Saptaishis (the seven sages) then return to the earthly dimension from a higher dimension, and teach the people about the spiritual life, vedic knowledge and varnashrama dharma, and will classify the society into a four-fold varna system. Then people flourish into the Satya Yuga, perform sacred rites and live peacefully.