Kalki (Sanskrit: कल्कि), also called Kalkin,[1] is the prophesied tenth and final Avatar of the god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (Krita) in Vaishnava cosmology. The end of the Kali Yuga states this will usher in the new epoch of Satya Yuga in the cycle of existence, until the Mahapralaya (dissolution of the universe).[1][2]
Kalki is described in the Puranas as the avatar who rejuvenates existence by ending the darkest and destructive period to remove adharma (unrighteousness) and ushering in the Satya Yuga, while riding a white horse with a fiery sword.[2] The description and details of Kalki are different among various Puranas. Kalki is also found in Buddhist texts, for example the Kalachakra-Tantra of Tibetan Buddhism.[11][12][13]
The prophecy of the Kalki avatara is also told in Sikh texts. Kalki is an avatara of Vishnu. Avatara means “descent”, and refers to a descent of the divine into the material realm of human existence. The Garuda Purana lists ten incarnations, with Kalki being the tenth.[16] 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.[2][17] He restarts a new cycle of time.[18] He is described as a Brahmin warrior in the Puranas.
Kalki appears for the first time in the Mahabharata.[19] A minor text named Purana is a relatively recent text, likely composed in Bengal. Its dating floruit is the 18th-century.[20] Wendy Doniger dates the Mythology containing Purana to between 1500 and 1700 CE