Template:Italic title Template:Other uses Template:Distinguish
The Kali Yuga, in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Dvapara Yuga and followed by the next cycle's Krita (Satya) Yuga. It is believed to be the present age, which is full of conflict and sin.[1][2][3]
The "Kali" of Kali Yuga means "strife", "discord", "quarrel" or "contention" and Kali Yuga is associated with the demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī).Template:Citation needed
According to Puranic sources,Template:Efn Krishna's departure marks the end of Dvapara Yuga and the start of Kali Yuga, which is dated to 17/18 February 3102 BCE.[4]Template:Sfn Lasting for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), Kali Yuga began Template:NEXTYEAR years ago and has Template:Sum years left as of 2026 CE.[5][6][7] Kali Yuga will end in the year 428,899 CE.Template:Sfn
Etymology
Yuga (Template:Lang-sa), in this context, means "an age of the world", or epoch, where its archaic spelling is yug, with other forms of yugam, Template:IAST, and yuge, derived from yuj (Template:Lang-sa), believed derived from Template:PIE (Proto-Indo-European: Template:Lit. 'to join or unite').[8]
Kali Yuga (Template:Lang-sa) means "the age of Kali (demon)", "the age of darkness", "the age of vice and misery", or "the age of quarrel and hypocrisy".[9]
Kali Yuga is described in the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Surya Siddhanta, Vishnu Smriti, and various Puranas.[10]
Epigraphy
According to P. V. Kane, one of the earliest inscriptions with one of the four yugas named is the Pikira grant of Pallava Simhavarman (mid-5th centuryTemplate:NbspCE):Template:Sfn[11]
Other epigraphs exist with named yugas in the Old Mysore region of India, published in Epigraphia Carnatica.[12]
Start date
According to the Surya Siddhanta, Kali Yuga began at midnight (00:00) on 18 February 3102 BCE.[4]Template:Sfn[13] This is also considered the date on which Krishna left the earth to return to Vaikuntha.[14] This information is placed at the temple of Bhalka, the place of this incident (see photo).
According to the astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata, Kali Yuga started in 3102 BCE. He finished his book Aryabhattiyam in 499 CE, in which he gave the exact year of the beginning of Kali Yuga. He writes, in the "year 3600 of the Kali Age" at the age of 23. As it was the 3600th year of the Kali Age when he was 23 years old, and given that Aryabhata was born in 476 CE, the beginning of the Kali Yuga would come to (3600 - (476 + 23) + 1 (One year from 1 BCE to 1 CE)) = 3102 BCE.[15]
According to K. D. Abhyankar, the starting point of Kali Yuga is an extremely rare planetary alignment, which is depicted in the Mohenjo-daro seals.[16] Going by this alignment, the year 3102 BCE is slightly off. The actual date for this alignment is 7 February 3104 BCE. There is also sufficient proof to believe that Vrdhha Garga knew of precessions at least by 500 BCE. Garga had calculated the rate of precession to within 30% of what the modern scholars estimate.[17][18]Template:Better source
Duration and structure
Hindu texts describe four yugas (world ages) in a Yuga Cycle, where, starting in order from the first age of Krita (Satya) Yuga, each yuga's length decreases by one-fourth (25%), giving proportions of 4:3:2:1. Each yuga is described as having a main period (Template:Aka yuga proper) preceded by its Template:IAST (dawn) and followed by its Template:IAST (dusk), where each twilight (dawn/dusk) lasts for one-tenth (10%) of its main period. Lengths are given in divine years (years of the gods), each lasting for 360 solar (human) years.[5][6][7]
Kali Yuga, the fourth age in a cycle, lasts for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), where its main period lasts for 360,000 years (1,000 divine years) and its two twilights each lasts for 36,000 years (100 divine years). The current cycle's Kali Yuga, the present age, has the following dates based on it starting in 3102Template:NbspBCE:[5][6][7]
| Part | Start (– End) | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Kali-yuga-sandhya (dawn)* | 3102Template:NbspBCE | 36,000 (100) |
| Kali-yuga (proper) | 32,899Template:NbspCE | 360,000 (1,000) |
| Kali-yuga-sandhyamsa (dusk) | 392,899Template:NbspCETemplate:Snd428,899Template:NbspCE | 36,000 (100) |
| Years: 432,000 solar (1,200 divine) | ||
| Template:Sup | Template:Sfn | |
Mahabharata, Book 12 (Shanti Parva), Ch. 231:[19]Template:Efn Template:Blockquote
Manusmriti, Ch. 1:[20] Template:Blockquote
Surya Siddhanta, Ch. 1:[21] Template:Blockquote
Characteristics
Hindus believe that human civilization degenerates spiritually during the Kali Yuga.[22]
Hinduism often symbolically represents morality (dharma) as an Indian bull. In Satya Yuga, the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, which is reduced by one in each age that follows. By the age of Kali, morality is reduced to only a quarter of that of the golden age, so that the bull of Dharma has only one leg.[23][24]
The demon Kali (not to be confused with the goddess Kālī) is the reigning lord of Kali Yuga and his nemesis is Kalki, the tenth and final Avatar of Vishnu.Template:Citation needed
References in the Mahabharata
The Kurukshetra War and the decimation of Kauravas thus happened at the Yuga-Sandhi, the point of transition from one yuga to another.[25] The scriptures mention Narada as having momentarily intercepted the demon Kali on his way to the Earth when Duryodhana was about to be born in order to make him an embodiment of arishadvargas and adharma in preparation of the era of decay in values and the consequent havoc.Template:Citation needed
Prophesied events
A discourse by Markandeya in the Mahabharata identifies some of the attributes of Kali Yuga.[26]
10,000-year Golden Age
Template:More citations needed section
The Brahma Vaivarta Purana (related to Rathantara kalpa) mentions a 10,000-year period, starting from the traditional dating of the Kali Yuga epoch, during which bhakti yogis will be present.[27]
In Sikhism
Guru Granth Sahib on Ang:1185 says:[28] Template:Blockquote
Other usage
The Kali Yuga is an important concept in both Theosophy and Anthroposophy,[29][30] and in the writings of Helena Blavatsky, W.Q. Judge, Rudolf Steiner, Savitri Devi, and Traditionalist philosophers such as René Guénon and Julius Evola, among others. Rudolf Steiner believed that the Kali Yuga ended in 1900.[29]
See also
- Hindu eschatology
- Hindu units of time
- Kalpa (day of Brahma)
- Manvantara (age of Manu)
- Pralaya (period of dissolution)
- Yuga Cycle (four yuga ages): Satya (Krita), Treta, Dvapara, and Kali
- Historicity of the Mahabharata
- Itihasa (Hindu Tradition)
- List of numbers in Hindu scriptures
- Vedic-Puranic chronology
Notes
References
- ↑ Template:Dictionary.com
- ↑ Template:Dictionary.com
- ↑ Smith, John D. (2009). The Mahābhārata: an abridged translation. Penguin Classics (Template:ISBN), p. 200
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Blackwell Companion to Hinduism{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Blackwell Publishing(2003). ISBN 0631215352
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Atlantis and the Cycles of Time: Prophecies, Traditions, and Occult Revelations{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Inner Traditions(2011). ISBN 9781594778575
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Template:Cite encyclopedia
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Units of Measurement: Past, Present and Future. International System of Units{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Springer(2010). ISBN 9783642007378
- ↑ युग (yuga). Wiktionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
yuga. Wiktionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
Yuga. Wisdom Library. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
युज् (yuj). Wiktionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
*yeug-. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27. - ↑ कलि (kali). Wiktionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
Kali Yuga. Wiktionary. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
Kaliyuga, Kali-yuga. Wisdom Library. Retrieved 2021-02-27. - ↑ Kalivarjya (actions forbidden in the Kali Age). Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society({Template:Date).
- ↑ The Pikira grant inscription has the word "kaliyuga" on line 10 located on 3rd plate, first side.
— Epigraphia Indica and Records of the Archaeological Survey of India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Education Society's Press(1981) - ↑ Each term has an index of volumes:
* p. 177: Dvapara, Yuga or age; Dvapara-yuga, do.
* p. 301: Kali-yuga, age of Kali
* p. 364: Kritayuga, age; Kritayuga, do.
— Mysore Archeological Survey: Epigraphia Carnatica{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Government Press(1934) - ↑ The Induand the Rg-Veda, Page 16, By Egbert Richter-Ushanas, Template:ISBN
- ↑ Lord Krishna lived for 125 years.(8 September 2004). Retrieved 31 December 2015.
- ↑ H.D. Dharm Chakravarty Swami Prakashanand Saraswati. Encyclopedia Of Authentic Hinduism The True History and the Religion of India, Hardbound, 2nd Edition, 2003, Template:ISBN Retrieved 2015-01-21
- ↑ Astronomical significance to two Mohenjodaro seals. Astronomical Society of India, Bulletin({Template:Year).
- ↑ Astronomical significance to two Mohenjodaro seals. Astronomical Society of India, Bulletin({Template:Year).
- ↑ Archived copy. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
- ↑ A Prose English Translation of The Mahabharata (Translated Literally from the Original Sanskrit text){{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Elysium Press(1903).
- ↑ The Laws of Manu: translated with extracts from seven commentaries{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(1886)
- ↑ Translation of the Surya-Siddhanta, A Text-Book of Hindu Astronomy; With notes and an appendix{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. University of Calcutta(1935)
- ↑ Dimitri Kitsikis, L'Orocc, dans l'âge de Kali, Editions Naaman,1985, Template:ISBN
- ↑ The Mahabharata, Book 3: Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva: Section CLXXXIX. Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
- ↑ Template:IAST 1.16.20
- ↑ Epic lessons for Kali Yuga: Rereading the 'Mahabharata' in our contemporary moment. The Hindu.
- ↑ Mahabharata SECTION CLXXXIX
- ↑ Ramesh Chaturvedi, Shantilal Nagar. 'Brahmavaivarta Purana'{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Parimal Publications(2001). ISBN 978-81-7110-170-2 Online Book 4, Chapter 129, versus 49–60
- ↑ Enabling Gurmat Knowledge. SikhiToTheMAX. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Spiritualism, Madame Blavatsky & Theosophy: An Eyewitness View of Occult History : Lectures by Rudolf Steiner{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}
- ↑ Across the Great Border Fault: The Naturalist Myth in America{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Rutgers University Press(2000)