Kalki: Encyclopedia II - Kalki - Origins of the Kalki Prophecy

Kalki - Origins of the Kalki Prophecy

One of the earliest mentions of Kalki is in the Vishnu Purana. Vishnu is the Preserver, the sustainer of life in the Hindu trinity, balancing the processes of Creation and Destruction. Kalki is also mentioned in another of the 18 major Purana, the Agni Purana. Agni is the god of Fire in the Hindu pantheon, and symbolically represents the spiritual fire of life and the processes of transformation. It is one of the earliest works declaring Gautama Buddha to have been a manifestation of Vishnu, and seems to draw upon the Vishnu Purana in its mention of Kalki. A later work, the Kalki Purana, a minor Purana is an extensive exposition of expectations and predictions of when, where, and why it is said he will come, and what he is expected to do. It has a very militant perspective, and celebrates the defeat of traditions that are deemed heretical for not adhering closely enough to the traditions of the Vedas, such as Buddhism and Jainism. A few other minor Purana also mention him.

It has been theorized that the Kalki Purana may have been written as a Hindu response to the Buddhist prophecies within the Kalachakra Tantra of many leaders with the name or title of Kalki. Followers of Tibetan Buddhism have preserved the Kalachakra Tantra, and initiation rites based upon it are a prominent part of the Tibetan traditions. In the Kalachakra Tantra Kalki (or Kalaki, or Kulika) is declared to be a title or name of at least 25 future rulers of the mystical realm of Shambala. The aims and actions of some of these are prophesied in portions of the work and some identify the 25th Kalki as the Maitreya Buddha who brings about world-wide enlightenment.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origins of the Kalki Prophecy", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki