The Kalki Avatar would be the tenth and final incarnation of Lord Vishnu that would appear at the end of the present Kali Yuga. At the end of the Kali Yuga, when dharma would reach the nadir point, then to restore the righteousness in the world, Lord Vishnu would incarnate as Kalki. He is often depicted as mounted on a white flying white horse named Devdatta and wielding a blazing sword in his right hand.
The Meaning of the Name Kalki:
The name Kalki most likely originated from the Sanksrit word “Kalka,” which means foulness or filth. Therefore, the meaning of the name Kalki is “the destroyer of filth (darkness)”.
The Origin of the Kalki Avatar:
Kalki avatar is not mentioned in the Vedas. The epithet “Kalmallkinam”, meaning “Brilliant Remover Of Darkness,” is found in the Vedic Literature for Rudra (later Shiva), which has been interpreted to be “Forerunner Of Kalki”. Kalki avatar is mentioned in many Hindu texts, including but not limited to the Mahabharata, Vishnu Purana, Matsya Purana, Bhavishya Purana, Kalki Purana, and Bhagavata Purana.
What Would the Kalki Avatar Look Like:
Lord Kalki is often depicted as riding a flying white horse named Devadatta. The horse Devadatta is none but Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vishnu. He is carrying a blazing sword in his right hand and a shield in the left. He is dressed as a king with a crown on his head. In some pictures, he is shown to have a blue complexion, while some pictures show his skin color to be brown.
Per the Kalki Purana, the Lord’s eyes would be like lotus petals, His complexion would be very dark, and his effulgence would be as bright as the sun. His arms would extend to his knees.
The Story of the Kalki Avatar:
The Kalki Purana is a minor Purana dedicated to Lord Kalki and elaborates what would happen in his life.
The Birth of the Kalki Avatar:
At the end of the Kalki Yuga, in a village named Shambhala, Lord Kalki would be born into a Brahmin family as a son of Vishnuyasa and Sumati. He would be born in the month of Vaishakha on the twelfth day during the fortnight of the waxing moon.
The Siblings of Kalki:
Lord Kalki would have three elder brothers, named Kavi, Prajna, and Sumantra who would be heroic warriors.
The Wives of Kalki:
Lord Kalki would have two wives, named Padmavati and Ramaa.
Goddess Lakshmi would incarnate as Padma and would be the wife of the lord. She would be born from the womb of Kaumudi, the wife of Brihadratha, the king of Simhala.
Ramaa would be the daughter of King Shashidvaja and Queen Sushanta.
The Children of Kalki:
Kalki Avatar would have four children in total; two from Padma and two from Ramaa. Padmavati would give birth to Jai and Vijaya, and Ramaa to Meghamaala and Balaahaka.
The Mission of Kalki’s Life:
Per the Kalki Purana, the main aim of Kalki’s life would be to kill Kali and establish Satya Yuga. Kalki Avatar would set out to conquer the entire world and in the course of conquest, would defeat many sinful kings who are representatives of Kali.
The Teacher of Lord Kalki;
Lord Parashurama would be the teacher of Kalki, and he would give him spiritual knowledge as well as the knowledge of warfare. Kalki would be the master of 64 arts and would be proficient in Vedic knowledge.
Mahadeva Gives Weapons To Kalki:
After completing the training, he would go to Lord Shiva and praise him. Lord Shiva would give him the Devdatta horse manifested from Garuda that would go anywhere at will and assume many different forms. Then he would give him a parrot that would know past, present, and future. He would also give him a divine sword.
Kalki’s Marriage to Padmavati:
Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had given a boon to Padmavati that she would get Lord Vishnu as her husband. If anyone looks at her with lust, then he would immediately turn into a woman. But after waiting for many years without any news from Lord Kalki, King Brihadratha would arrange a Svayamvara for his daughter Padmavati. Many kings and princes would gather there. Padmavati would be allowed to choose the husband of her choice. When the kings would see Padmavati, they would be mesmerized. As they would look at her with lust, they would be transformed into females.
After that Lord Kalki would arrive there, and marry her.
Kalki’s Return to Shambhala:
After that Kalki would return to his native village Shambhala along with Padmavati. Indra would order Vishwakarma to decorate the village with many palaces, apartments, and other amenities.
Kalki Would Begin the Mission to Conquer the World:
He would then set out with his army to first conquer Kikarapura. The dwellers of the kingdom would be Buddhists mostly, who would not be following the path of dharma. The ruler of this kingdom would be Jina. In the battle, first, he would flee the battlefield but would soon return because of taunts by Kalki. He would then injure Devadatta (horse) and would make Kalki unconscious with the shower of arrows. He would try to capture Kalki but would fail to do so. Therefore, he would flee the battlefield. After regaining consciousness, Kalki would find and kill him and defeat the Buddhist kingdom.
The Killing of the Demoness Kuthodari:
After defeating Jina, Kalki would return to his capital where some sages would inform him about a demoness named Kuthodari. She would be a gigantic and ruthless demoness and live in the Himalayas. So Kalki would leave for the Himalayas.
When he and his army would confront the demoness, she would eat many horses, elephants, and soldiers along with Lord Kalki. Therefore within the dark stomach of the demoness, Lord Kalki would create a fire with one of his arrows and then make it blaze up by adding clothes, leather, and wood. When the fire would blaze brightly, the Lord would raise his powerful sword and tear open the right side of her ribcage. The soldiers would attack her with arrows and she would be put to death.
Being overwhelmed by the grief of his mother’s death, Vikanja, the son of Kuthodari, would begin to torment Lord Kalki’s soldiers. To eliminate this five-year-old demon, Lord Kalki would invoke the Brahmastra, That supreme weapon would sever Vikanja’s head from his body.
Kalki Goes Out to Conquer Demon Kali and his Allies:
Lord Kalki would depart for the favorite places of Kali along with his huge army consisting of his brothers, nephews, and other pious kings. When Kali would hear about Kalki’s conquest, he would leave his kingdom, Vishasana, but Kalki’s army would stop him, and a fierce battle would begin. Kalki would kill two powerful demons named Koka and Vikoka.
Personified dharma and Satya Yuga would confront Kali and injure him seriously. Kali would get down his donkey and return to the capital. The army of Kali would also be defeated by Kalki’s army. Dharma and Satya Yuga would enter Kali’s capital and set the whole city on fire. Kali would also be burnt but would survive, but his wife and children would be killed. He would leave the city in distress and travel to another country.
Kalki Would Travel to Bhallatanagara:
When Kalki would reach Bhallatanagar, the king Shashidhvaja would attack him, and a fierce battle would take place. Shashidhvaja and Kalki would start fighting each other and exhaust all the weapons. In the end, King Shashidhvaja would smash Kalki, and Kalki would fall unconscious. Then he would bring him to his home, along with Dharma and Satya Yuga. Thus King Shashidhvaja would defeat Kalki.
Seeing the Lord in front of her, Sushanta would be overwhelmed and would eulogize him. Being greatly satisfied by Sushanta’s prayers, Lord Kalki would be awakened from his state of unconsciousness.
The king and his wife would tell him that they were his devotees and would offer their daughter Ramaa in marriage to him.
An Encounter with Vishakanya:
After marriage with Ramaa, Kalki and his army would depart to Kanchananagara, which would be protected by poisonous serpents. After killing the serpents, Lord Kalki would enter the fort, but there would be no human beings. The celestial voice would tell him that his army would die if they enter the city. So, only he and his parrot would enter the city where he would find a Vishakanya named Sulochana. Her poisonous glance would not harm Kalki, and she would be relieved of the curse by his darshan. She would then leave to go to Gandharva Loka to see her husband.
Kalki’s Return to Shambhala:
Lord Kalki would appoint his relatives and colleagues as kings of different kingdoms that he would win and return to Shambhala. There he wound spend some years with his wives Padmavati and Ramaa. It was at this time that Satya Yuga would commence. The demigods would resume moving about freely, bestowing benedictions upon their worshipers. Everyone would become happy and well-nourished. Cheating, stealing, lies, duplicity, natural disasters, and disease would vanish from the face of the Earth.
The Death of Kalki’s Parents:
Kalki would perform sacrifices at the advice of his father. After hearing wise words from Narada, his father would go to Badrikashrama and perform severe austerities and would leave his material body. Kalki’s mother would perform Sati.
Kalki’s Return to Vaikuntha:
Kalki would rule Sambhala for around 1000 years. On a day, all the gods along with Gandharvas, Apsaras, etc., would come to Shambhala. Gods would tell him that his mission on Earth was finished. Kalki would tell them that he also wanted to return to Vaikuntha along with his wives.
He would summon his four sons and would hand over the rule of the kingdom to them. Then he would say farewell to his subjects and would go into the forest with Ramaa and Padma. Then, he would go into the Himalayas and would go into deep meditation. He would appear as brilliant as thousands of suns. His wives would also join him on the journey to his eternal abode.o
Some Important Points about the Kalki Purana:
It seems this Purana is written during the period of the rise of Buddhism because Buddhists are depicted as evils. Also, there is no mention of Kalki killing Kali. Kali did not even face Kalki. It was Dharma who fought with him. Kali does not die but just goes to another country.
Nostradamus’ Prophecies about the Kalki Avatar:
Other than the Hindu Puranas, there are some interesting predictions in the revelation book Centuries by Nostradamus that have a close resemblance to the Kalki avatar.
1. “Of the three water signs will be born a person whose holy day will be Thursday. His name, fame, and rule will grow everywhere on land and sea and free the east from trouble.”
Hinduism is the only major religion in the world that has Thursday as a holy day. Many scholars believe that the three water signs are actually three water bodies, viz. Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and The Bay of Bengal meet at Kanya Kumari in India. Therefore, this quatrain most likely points to someone from India who is a Hindu.
2. “The religion called by the sea will overcome the sect of the Adaluncatif, the stubborn sect of the two wounded men alpha and alpha.”
The only religion in the world, which is named after a sea (Hind Mahasagar) is the Hindu religion.
3. “The Eastern man will come down from his throne and cross the Apennines into France through the sea and air and will strike the evil ones with his rod.”
The rod mentioned here could be the sword of the Kalki avatar.
Many prophecies of Nostradamus have been proved to be true so far. Therefore, the prophecy of the Kalki avatar is also likely to be true.
Kalki and Mohammad:
Many Muslims and some disgraced Hindus believe that Prophet Muhammad was the Kalki avatar, but this cannot be true because of the following reasons:
1. All the avatars of Vishnu so far have been born in the Indian subcontinent, while Mecca is not in the Indian subcontinent where Muhammad Paigambar was born.
2. Kalki avatar would be born in a Hindu Brahmin family, and Muhammad was not born in a Brahmin family.
3. Kalki avatar would be born at the end of Kali Yuga. At the time of the birth of Muhammad, Kali Yuga was not about to end.
4. Prophet Muhammad possessed no divine weapons.
5. Prophecies of Nostradamus better fit for someone from India and a Hindu and not a Muslim.
6. Kali Yuga did not end even after the disappearance of Prophet Muhammad.
Therefore, Prophet Muhammad was definitely not the Kalki avatar.
You May Also Like To Read: Muhammad Paigambar in Hindu Scriptures
When Would the Kalki Avatar come?
Per the Puranas, Kali Yuga would last for 432,000 years. Around 5121 years have passed in the present Kali Yuga. Therefore, Kalki Avatar might come after 425,000 years from now.
According to the Bhagavata Purana 9.8.54, “When trees will become the size of hands and people will become thumb-sized, then Kalki will be born to Vishnuyasah.”
Would the World End after the Rise of Kalki?
Many people believe that the world would come to an end after the incarnation of Kalki. Some people say that he would kill all the human beings, but if you refer to the stories in the Purana, there is nothing mentioned as such.