Editing Kalki (section)

===Hindu texts===
Kalki is an ''avatara'' of Vishnu. [[Avatar]] means "descent", and refers to a descent of the divine into the material realm of human existence. Kalki appears for the first time in the ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref name="Hiltebeitel2011p104" />

The [[Garuda Purana]] lists [[Dashavatara|ten incarnations]], with Kalki being the final one.<ref>{{cite book|title=India through the ages|url=https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada|last=Gopal|first=Madan|year= 1990| page= [https://archive.org/details/indiathroughages00mada/page/73 73]|editor=K.S. Gautam|publisher=Publication Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India}}</ref> He is described as the incarnation who appears at the end of the Kali Yuga. He ends the darkest, degenerating, and chaotic stage of the Kali Yuga to remove ''[[adharma]]'' and ushers in the [[Satya Yuga]], while riding a white horse with a fiery sword.<ref name="Dalal2010p188" /><ref name="Doniger1999p629">{{cite book| author1=Wendy Doniger|author2=Merriam-Webster, Inc|title=Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of World Religions| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP_f9icf2roC&pg=PA629 |year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-044-0|page=629}}</ref> He restarts a new cycle of time.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ludo Rocher|editor=Ralph M. Rosen|title=Time and Temporality in the Ancient World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=It9KMklf4R4C&pg=PA91|date=22 March 2004|publisher=UPenn Museum of Archaeology|isbn=978-1-931707-67-1|pages=91–93}}</ref> He is described as a Brahmin warrior in the Puranas.<ref name="Dalal2010p188" /><ref name="Doniger1999p629" /> It is mentioned in the Puranas that the immortal [[Chiranjivi]]s will assist him in various stages of his life.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-26 |title=7 Chiranjeevis: The Immortals Who Will Assist Kalki In Ending Kali Yuga |url=https://www.timesnownews.com/spiritual/7-chiranjeevis-the-immortals-of-hinduism-who-will-assist-kalki-in-ending-kali-yuga-article-111290266 |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=Times Now |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Kalki_avatar_idol_in_rani_ki_vav_patan.jpg|thumb|Statue of Kalki's incarnation on a wall of [[Rani ki vav|Rani Ki Vav]] (The Queen's Stepwell) at [[Patan, Gujarat|Patan]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]]]

A minor text named [[Kalki Purana]] is a relatively recent text, likely composed in [[Bengal]]. Its dating [[floruit]] is the 18th-century.{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=183 with footnotes}} Wendy Doniger dates the Kalki Mythology containing ''Kalki Purana'' to between 1500 and 1700 CE.<ref>{{cite book |first=Wendy |last=Doniger |year=1988 |title=Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism |page=5 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-1867-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KtZRAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5}}</ref>

In the ''[[Kalki Purana]]'', Kalki is born into the family of Vishnuyashas and Sumati, in a village called [[Shambala]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kirk |first=James A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aUwqAAAAYAAJ |title=Stories of the Hindus: An Introduction Through Texts and Interpretation |date=1972 |publisher=Macmillan |isbn=978-0-02-563230-1 |pages=239 |language=en}}</ref> on the thirteenth day during the fortnight of the waxing moon. At a young age, he is taught the holy scriptures on topics such as ''[[dharma]], [[karma]], [[artha]], [[jñāna]],'' and undertakes military training under the care of the [[Parasurama|Parashurama]] (the sixth incarnation of Vishnu).<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/the-kalki-purana-english |title=The Kalki Purana— English |pages=28}}</ref> Soon, Kalki worships [[Shiva]], who gets pleased by the devotion and provides him in return a divine white horse named Devadatta (a manifestation of [[Garuda]]), a powerful sword, whereby its handle is bedecked with jewels, and a parrot named Shuka, who is an all-knower; the past, the present and the future.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/the-kalki-purana-english |title=The Kalki Purana— English |pages=33–34}}</ref> Other accessories are also given by other [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]], [[devi]]s, [[Hindu saints|saints]], and righteous kings. He fights an evil army and in many wars, ending evil, but does not end existence. Kalki returns to Shambala, inaugurates a new ''[[Yuga]]'' for the good, and then goes to [[Vaikuntha]].{{sfn|Rocher|1986|p=183 with footnotes}} In the ''Kalki Purana'', there is a mention of a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] city whose residents don't adhere to ''dharma'' (not worshipping the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]], [[Pitrs|ancestors]], and not upholding the varna system), which Kalki fights and conquers.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/the-kalki-purana-english |title=The Kalki Purana— English |pages=146,172}}</ref>

The ''[[Agni Purana]]'' describes Kalki's role:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Parmeshwaranand |first=Swami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6F0ZIBIL2ZAC&pg=PA138 |title=Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Puranas |date=2001 |publisher=Sarup & Sons |isbn=978-81-7625-226-3 |pages=138 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=Kalki, as the son of Viṣṇuyaśas, (and having) Yājñavalkya as the priest would destroy the non-Aryans, holding the astra and having a weapon. He would establish moral law in four-fold varṇas in the suitable manner. The people (would be) in the path of righteousness in all the stages of life.|title=''[[Agni Purana]]''|source=Chapter 16, Verses 8 - 9}}
The ''[[Devi Bhagavata Purana]]'' features the [[Deva (Hinduism)|devas]] hailing Vishnu, invoking his Kalki avatara:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Basu |first=Baman Das |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=12kSkNpBx-sC&pg=PA1029 |title=The Srimad Devi Bhagwatam (vols.2 Set) |date=2007 |publisher=Cosmo Publications |isbn=978-81-307-0559-0 |pages=1029 |language=en}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=When almost all the persons in this world will turn out in future as Mleccas and when the wicked Kings will oppress them, right and left, Thou wilt then incarnate Thyself again as Kalki and redress all the grievances! We bow down to Thy Kalki Form! O Deva!|title=''[[Devi Bhagavata Purana]]''|source=Chapter 5}}