“Whenever and wherever there is a decline in righteousness, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of vice – at that time I descend Myself. In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of dharma, I advent Myself epoch after epoch”
Since the beginning, Lord Vishnu incarnated in various forms on earth from time to time. Whenever there was a disbalance in Creation, it was ensured that the avatars worked on rectifying it. The avatar was bespoke of the yuga as the yugas needed to change with time. He took birth as a Brahmin (Parshurama) to annihilate the corrupt Kshatriyas, as a prince(Rama) to slay the demon king of Lanka and as a cowherd(Krishna) who executed the cunning Kansa and steered the Pandavas to victory. Lord Vishnu is said to have ten avatars (dashavatars) in the present cycle of four yugas.
Now, being the Kalyug, is the time when the tenth and the final avatar of Lord Vishnu will take birth on Earth. If we look around, there is rampant increase in pollution, corruption and disharmony that is leading to the decline of the planet. The stage is set when rishis and yogis would invoke the devas. The devas will seek help from Lord Vishnu when adharma reaches its peak. Then Lord Vishnu will manifest as Kalki, to wipe out all the evil that has been seeping through this planet for many thousand years. His mission will be to establish sanatan (eternal) dharma.
In a village based in Sambhala, a beautiful lotus-eyed baby will be born. Godlike in his form, Kalki will get the gyan of the Vedas, especially for war, from Lord Parshurama and will head towards his destination to fight the forces of Kali. The Lord will be in constant search of the descendants of evil.
According to the Kalki Purana, “All these relatives (agents) of (the personification of the age of) Kali are the destroyers of sacrifice (religious ritual), study of the Vedas, and charity because they transgressed all the Vedic principles of religion. They are the reservoirs of mental distress, disease, old age, destruction of religious principles, sorrow, lamentation, and fear. These descendants of Kali are found wandering everywhere throughout the kingdom of Kali, destroying the people of the world. Such people are misguided by the influence of time, very restless by nature, full of lusty desires, extremely sinful, very proud, and violent even to their own father and mother.”
Infact, the few corrupt brahmanas of this yuga have been described as follows: “These fallen souls are very fond of dry arguments, and they use religion as a means of livelihood, teach Vedic knowledge as a profession, are fallen from the execution of their vows, and sell wine and other abominable things, including meat. They are cruel by nature, and very fond of gratifying their bellies and genitals. For this reason, they lust after the wives of others and are always seen to be intoxicated.”
Kalki will devote himself towards Lord Shiv and acquire weapons that will be needed to shape the future. Thus, as per the Bhagvada Purana, “Lord Kalki, the Lord of the Universe, will mount His swift white horse Devadatta and, with a sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequalled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings.”
The few who will stand on the side of dharma and raise their voice against injustice and uphold the true message of Vedas, these will be the rishis of the next yuga, the Satyuga.
Sources:
“Kalki The Next Avatar of God.” Kalki The Next Avatar of God. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2015. <http://www.stephen-knapp.com/kalki_the_next_avatar_of_God.htm>.
Das, Purnaprajna, and Vyāsa. Śrī Kalki Purāṇa. Mathura: Jai Nitāi, 2006. Print.
Author: Harshwardhan Rawat
