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| {{short description|Nemesis of Hindu deity Kalki}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Kali (demon)]] |
| {{distinguish|text = the goddess [[Kali]]}}
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| {{Infobox deity<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Hindu mythology--> | | {{Redirect category shell| |
| | type = Hindu | | {{R from move}} |
| | image = Kali.png
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| | caption = Kali, Strongest demon of kali yuga
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| | name = Kali
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| | Devanagari = कलि/कली
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| | Sanskrit_transliteration = Kali
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| | script_name =
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| | script =
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| | affiliation = [[Asura]] [[Adharma]]
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| | abode = [[Naraka]]
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| | consort = [[Durukti]]
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| | children = Dumvishnu<br>Niraswati<br>Vishbrahma<br>Alakshmi
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| | father = Krodha
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| | mother = Hinsa
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| | siblings = [[Durukti]]
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| | god_of = Personification of [[Adharma]]
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| }} | | }} |
| {{Contains special characters|Indic}}
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| In [[Hinduism]], '''Kali''' ([[Devanagari|Devanāgari]]: {{lang|sa|कलि}}, [[IAST]]: ''{{IAST|kali}}'', with both vowels short; from a [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''{{IAST|kad}}'', 'suffer, hurt, startle, confuse') is the being who reigns during the age of the [[Kali Yuga]] and acts as the nemesis of [[Kalki]], the tenth and final [[avatar]] of the Hindu preserver deity, [[Vishnu]].
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| ==Mahabharata==
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| {{See also|Gandharva Kingdom#The Gandharvas mentioned in Mahabharata|l1=The Gandharvas mentioned in Mahabharata}}
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| [[Image:Ravi Varma-Princess Damayanthi talking with Royal Swan about Nala.jpg|thumb|left|130px|Damayanti speaking with a celestial swan]]
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| According to the [[Mahabharata]], the [[gandharva]] Kali became jealous when he was late to Princess [[Damayanti]]'s [[Swayamvara|marriage]] ceremony and discovered she had overlooked the deities [[Indra]], [[Agni]], [[Varuna]], and [[Yama]] (and ultimately himself) to choose [[Nala]] as her husband. In anger, Kali spoke to his companion Dvapara, the personification of [[Dvapara Yuga]]:
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| {{blockquote|I am ill able, O Dvapara, to suppress my anger. I shall possess Nala, deprive him of his kingdom, and he shall no more sport with Bhima's daughter. Entering the dice, it behoveth thee to help me.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/index.htm SECTION LVIII]</ref>}}
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| Kali traveled to Nala's kingdom of [[Nishadhas]] and waited twelve long years for the right moment to strike. Because Nala had rendered himself impure by not washing his feet before his prayers, Kali was able to bewitch his soul. Kali then appeared before [[Pushkara]] and invited him to play a game of dice with his brother, guaranteeing Nala's downfall. Dwapara took the form of the ''Vrisha'' die that would be used in the fixed game. Kali forced Nala to lose and, each time, he would raise the stakes higher despite the protest of his advisors and wife. Finally, Nala lost his kingdom to Pushkara. Both he and Damayanti were exiled to the forest.
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| [[Image:Kondadakuli.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Duryodhana as depicted in [[Yakshagana]] popular drama from [[Karnataka]]]]
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| During their exile, Kali drove Nala to abandon Damayanti, who later enacted a curse against everyone that had caused the downfall of her husband. She eventually returned home after a short time as a handmaiden to the Princess of [[Chedi Kingdom|Chedi]]. Nala, meanwhile, saved the [[Nāga|Naga]] [[Karkotaka]] from fire (where he was cursed to suffer by sage [[Narada]]). Intending to exorcise the devil within him, the serpent bit Nala, injecting him with deadly poisons that forever tortured Kali. The venom also changed Nala into an ugly dwarf named Bahuka. He later became the charioteer of the [[Ayodhya]] King [[Rituparna]], who was a master mathematician and dice player.
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| Years later, King Rituparna revealed to Bahuka the supreme skill of controlling the dice in exchange for [[horsemanship]] lessons. This skill awakened Nala from Kali's control and allowed him (with the help of Damayanti's curse and Karkotaka's venom) to exorcise the asura (demon);<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/asura | title=Asura | Hindu mythology | Britannica }}</ref> vomiting him in the form of poison from his mouth. Nala forced Kali's trembling spirit into a Vibhitaka tree. He then counted the fruits of the tree and left in search of his wife and later regained his true form. Kali returned to his abode as well.
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| Kali was then later incarnated as king [[Duryodhana]], eldest of the one hundred [[Kaurava]] brothers. His companion Dvapara became his uncle [[Shakuni]]. The day Duryodhana was born, he unleashed a donkey-like scream which the donkeys outside the home replied to. Despite the advice from [[Vidura]] to discard the evil baby, Duryodhana's father [[Dhritarashtra]] kept the child because of his blind love for his son and overlooked his responsibility as the King.
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| At the onset of [[Kali Yuga]], once king [[Parikshit]] went hunting in the forest. Just then in the middle of the way, Kali appeared before him and asked permission to enter his kingdom, which the king denied. Upon insisting, Parikshit allowed him five places to reside: where there is gambling, alcohol consumption, prostitution, animal slaughter and gold. Kali smartly entered into Parikshit's golden crown and spoiled his thoughts. Parikshit entered the hut of a sage named Shamika as he was thirsty. He found the sage in deep meditation. He bowed to him several times but there was no response. In anger, he took a dead snake and threw it around the sage's neck. Later when the sage's son, Shringin, heard of this incident he cursed the king to die of snake bite on the seventh day. On hearing this, the king forswore the throne for his son [[Janamejaya II|Janamejaya]] and spent his last seven days listening to the discourses of sage Shuka, compiled as the Bhagavata Purana under the banyan tree of Shukratal. As prophesied, the snake king [[Takshaka]] bit Parikshita, who left his mortal remains behind and attained Moksha.
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| ==Puranic accounts==
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| The [[Kalki Purana]] describes him as a huge being, the color of [[soot]], with a large tongue, and a terrible stench. From his birth, he carried an ''Upasthi'' (worship) boon. The Kalki Purana says that this asura (demon) chose gambling, liquor, prostitution, slaughter and gold as his permanent abodes."<ref name=kalki/> The ''Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' states Kali is "of a class of mythic beings (related to the [[Gandharvas]], and supposed by some to be fond of gambling)".<ref>Monier-Williams, Monier, Sir.Sanskrit-English Dictionary {{ISBN|0-19-864308-X}}</ref> The [[Bhagavata Purana]] describes Kali as wearing the garments of a king' and portrays him as a brownish-skinned asura (demon) with a dog-like face, protruding fangs, pointed ears and long green bushy hair, wearing a red [[loin cloth]] and golden jewelry.
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| It is believed by some that the names of the four [[yuga]]s of time—[[Satya Yuga|Satya]], [[Treta Yuga|Treta]], [[Dvapara Yuga|Dvapara]] and [[Kali Yuga|Kali]]—are named after "dice throws" from a game of dice popular during the [[Vedic period]]. Their order coincides with the favorability of each throw: Satya is the best throw, whereas Kali is considered the worst.<ref>[http://www.achaloza.com/docs/AchalOza_CyclicalTime.pdf CYCLICAL TIME AND ASTRONOMY IN HINDUISM] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191744/http://www.achaloza.com/docs/AchalOza_CyclicalTime.pdf |date=2017-09-12 }} (See page 3)</ref><ref>Glass, Marty. ''YUGA: An Anatomy of Our Fate''. Sophia Perennis, 2004 ({{ISBN|0900588292}})</ref> During the [[Mahabharata]], King [[Nala]] exorcises the disembodied spirit of Kali to a ''vibhīdaka'' tree (''[[Terminalia belerica]]''), whose fruits contain nuts which were used as the dice for the vedic dice game.<ref>Smith, Frederick M. ''The Self Possessed: Deity And Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature And Civilization.'' Columbia University Press, 2006 ({{ISBN|0231137486}})</ref> Therefore, not only Kali's name, but his penchant for gambling and reputation as being evil might have origin in this dice game.
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| The [[Hindu texts]] never mention that the yuga names come from a dice game so it could be the other way around i.e. the dice rolls got their names from the names of yugas. The [[Manusmriti]] (1.69) indicates some ancient Sages named the yugas, although there is no mention of a dice game.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Jones |author-first=Sir William |author-link=William Jones (philologist) |year=1807 |orig-year=1st ed. 1794 |chapter=The Laws of Menu, Son of Brahma - Chapter The First: On the Creation; with a Summary of the Contents |title=The Works of Sir William Jones in thirteen volumes. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.44659/page/n110/mode/1up |volume=VII |page=102 (1.69)}}</ref>
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| ===Churning of the ocean of milk===
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| According to a lesser known [[Madhwas|Madhva]] version of the legend, during the [[Samudra Manthana|churning of the ocean of milk]], a great poison known as [[halahala]] was produced, which [[Vayu]], the god of wind, rubbed in his hands to reduce its potency. Then a small portion was given to god [[Shiva]], turning his throat blue. The rest was collected in a golden vessel and digested by Vayu. (One source states he drank the ''Kalakuta'' poison of [[Vasuki (snake)|Vasuki]] [[nāga]].<ref>Mutalik, Keshav M. ''Jagannath Dasa's Harikathamrutasara (Quintessence of Hari's Saga)''. Bombay: Focus ({{ISBN|81-7154-787-7}})</ref> Still others more commonly state that Shiva drank alone.<ref>In another version given by [[Shaivites]], Shiva alone drank the deadly poison, but his consort [[Parvati]] squeezed his neck to keep it from reaching his stomach.[http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/series/11_names_of_shiva/11_names_of_shiva_bhagawan-1.htm] Still, some traditions state [[Vayu]] drank first and Shiva last and that Vayu himself is an aspect of Shiva.</ref>) A little portion of poison that wasn't swallowed by Shiva became the body of Kali. From this poison also came, "cruel objects like snakes, wolves, and tigers."<ref name=edu>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070701045713/http://www.geocities.com/prasanna_avaroth/mbtns/MBTN_2.pdf Chapter X Samudra mathana]</ref>
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| Later, when the [[asura]] [[Rahu]] was decapitated by Vishnu's [[Mohini]] [[Avatar]], the demon's allies attacked her and all except Kali were killed. Having the power to possess the bodies of immortal and mortal beings, he entered the hearts of man and escaped, using the men he possessed to corrupt the primordial scriptures by deliberately miswriting them, generating widespread chaos. Because Kali was "invisible, unimaginable, and present in all" the only way to correct the chaos born from the miswritten texts was to completely renew the sacred scriptures entirely. Thus Vishnu descended to earth as [[Vedavyasa|Vyasa]], the compiler of the sacred scriptures [[Vedas]] and the writer of the [[Puranas]].<ref name=edu/>
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| ===Markandeya Purana===
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| According to [[Markandeya Purana]], the [[Brahmin]] ''Pravara'' was given a magical ointment that allowed him to fly. But when he flew to the Himalayas, the ointment was washed away from the bottoms of his feet keeping him from returning home to his wife. During this time, the [[Apsara|nymph]] Varuthini fell madly in love with him and begged the Brahmin to stay with her forever. But eventually, he rejected her. He prayed to Agni who returned him home safely.
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| The [[gandharva]] Kali was in love with ‘‘Varuthini’’ and had been rejected by her in the past. He saw how she hungered for the Brahmin, so he took on the appearance of Pravara and came before the courtesan. He led her into the bedchamber and told her to close her eyes during their sex [''sambhoga'']. As they made love, Varuthini noticed that his body became flaming hot and believed it was because his Brahmin spirit was infused with the [[sacrificial fire]]. After climax, Kali, still-as-Pravara, left the apsara and returned to his abode. Varuthini soon became pregnant and nine months later gave birth to a human child that not only looked like the Brahmin but possessed his soul as well.<ref>Doniger, Wendy. ''The Bedtrick: Tales of Sex and Masquerade''. University Of Chicago Press, 2000 ({{ISBN|0226156427}})</ref> The authors of the book ''Science in Culture'' comment this was an example of the Sanskrit phrase "from his semen and from her thinking," meaning the child was indeed Pravara's child because she believed it was his.<ref>Graubard, Stephen R. and Everett Mendelsohn. ''Science in Culture''. Ed. Peter Galison and Stephen Graubard. Transaction Publishers, 2001 ({{ISBN|0765806738}})</ref>
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| In another version, Kali stipulates that he would only marry the apsara if she keeps her eyes closed while they are in the forest (presumably making love). However, Kali leaves after their marriage and the birth of their son ''Svarocisa''. Svarocisa grows up to become a very learned scholar of the Vedas and learns to speak the languages of all creatures from one of his three wives. He later marries a goddess and fathers [[Manu (Hinduism)|Svarocisa Manu]], one of the progenitors of mankind.<ref name=sva>Prasad, Ramanuj. ''Know The Puranas''. Pustak Mahal, 2005 ({{ISBN|81-223-0912-7}})</ref>
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| ===Bhagavata Purana===
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| The [[Bhagavata Purana]] states the very day and moment [[avatar]] [[Krishna]] left this earth, Kali, "who promotes all kinds of irreligious activities", came into this world.<ref name=snake>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/18/en1 |title=Canto 1: Creation, Chapter 18, Verse 6 |access-date=2007-03-07 |archive-date=2021-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919054622/http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/18/en1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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| After setting off to wage war against the evils of the world with his armies, Emperor [[Parikshit]], the grandson of [[Arjuna]], came across a [[Shudra|Sudra]] dressed as a king who was beating a cow and an ox with a club. Parikshit immediately led his chariot over to the scene and angrily berated the sudra for abusing the [[Cattle in religion|sacred cow]] and her mate. However, this was no ordinary sudra and these were no ordinary [[bovine]], for the sudra was Kali and the cow and ox were embodiments of the earth goddess and [[Dharma]]. The Emperor noticed the ox was standing on one of his legs because the other three had been broken by Kali. Dharma explained his four legs represented "austerity, cleanliness, mercy and truthfulness", but he had only the leg of "truth" to stand on since the other three had been broken by kali over the preceding [[yuga]]s.<ref name=bhaga>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/17/en1 |title=Canto 1: Creation, Chapter 17 |access-date=2007-03-07 |archive-date=2021-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919064717/http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/17/en1 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kali was intent on breaking all the legs that supported the reign of dharma so he could effect the expansion of his own dark reign on earth. The earth goddess cried for she had once been plentiful, but when Krishna ascended to heaven, she was forsaken and all of the prosperity left from the world. She feared evil kings like Kali would continue to lay waste to the earth.
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| When Parikshit raised his sword to kill Kali, the sudra stripped himself of his royal garments and prostrated himself at the emperor's feet. The emperor knew Kali tainted the world with his evil and so had no place in it and raised his sword once more. But Kali interceded again and begged the emperor to spare his life and allow him a place to live within his empire. Parikshit decided that Kali would live in "gambling houses, in taverns, in women and men of unchaste lives, in slaughtering places and in gold".<ref name=feast>Sastri, Natesa S. M. Hindu Feasts: Fasts And Ceremonies: Fasts and Ceremonies. Laurier Books Ltd., 2003 ({{ISBN|8120604024}})</ref> And as long as Parikshit ruled India, Kali stayed within the confines of these five places. This act allowed Dharma to regain his legs and the earth to be relieved of much burden. However, Parikshit was later cursed to die by snake bite after hunting in the forest and throwing a dead snake on an unresponsive sage practicing austerities. Upon the emperor's death, "Kali made his way to other places like wild fire and established his power throughout the length and breadth of the whole world."<ref name=feast/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/en1 |title=See chapters 16, 17, and 18 |access-date=2007-03-07 |archive-date=2021-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210919064716/http://www.vedabase.net/sb/1/en1 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
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| In another version of the tale, Kali enters into the Emperor's crown when Parikshit gives him permission to reside wherever there is gold. Upon returning home after offending the sage, Parikshit says to himself, ''[[Kali Yuga]]'s'' abode is in gold; this was on my head; hence I had so evil a thought that, having taken a dead snake cast it on the [[Rishi|sage]]’s neck. Therefore, I now understand that Kali Yuga has taken his revenge on me. How shall I escape this grievous sin?"<ref>[https://books.google.com/books/pdf/The_Prema_s__gara.pdf?vid=OCLC22083046&id=Nd26P9p1rNkC&output=pdf&sig=1f05oX_MDQcqbVHpaoi-bGeztck The Prema-Sagara: Or the Ocean of Love] (PDF ONLY)</ref><ref>Bahadur, S.P. ''Gitavali: Complete Works of Goswami Tulsidas (Volume III)''. India: Prachya Prakashan, 1979 ({{ISBN|8121506697}})</ref>
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| ===Kalki Purana===
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| [[Image:Kalki.jpg|thumb|Kalki]]
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| {{main|Kalki Purana}}
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| The beginning of the Kalki Purana describes Kali's lineage starting with the Brahma, his great-great-grandfather, and ending with the birth of his children's children. Instead of being born of poison from the churning of the ocean of milk, he is the product of a long line of incestuous monsters born from Brahma's back. (See [[#Family lineage|Family Lineage]] below) Kali and his family were created by Brahma to hurry the dissolution of the cosmos after the [[pralaya]] period was over. When his family takes human form on earth, they further taint the hearts and minds of mankind to bring about the end of [[Dvapara Yuga]] and the beginning of [[Kali Yuga]]. During the first stage of Kali Yuga, the ''[[Varna (Hinduism)|varnashrama]]'' breaks down and God-worship is forsaken by man. All through the second, third, and fourth stages, man forgets the name of god and no longer offers [[Yajna]] (offerings) to the [[Deva (Hinduism)|Devas]]. It is at this point when God [[Vishnu]] reincarnates as [[Kalki]] in the name of the Devas and all of mankind to rid the cosmos of Kali's dark influence.
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| The remainder of the tale describes Kalki's childhood, military training under the immortal [[Parashurama]] and assisting, training and teaching Kalki on Dharma, Karma, Artha and knowledge of most ancient and necessary Wisdom with military and social perspective but also help, support and join his fight against evils as greater guidance, his marriage, his preparation for war against the asura Kali, and the decisive war between the two. Kalki kicks off his campaign by performing the [[Ashvamedha]] sacrifice and leading his armies behind the horse as it runs freely from kingdom to kingdom. If any evil king tries to stop the horse, Kalki engages them in combat. After defeating them, he continues to follow the horse until all evil kingdoms are vanquished. When Kali finally faces Kalki's forces, his entire family blood line is wiped out by the avatar's generals and he presumably dies from wounds inflicted by [[Dharma]] and [[Satya Yuga]] personified. Kalki, meanwhile, battles and simultaneously kills the asura's most powerful generals, [[Koka and Vikoka]], twin devils adept in the dark arts.<ref name=kalki>Chaturvedi, B.K. ''Kalki Purana''. New Delhi: Diamond Books, 2004 ({{ISBN|81-288-0588-6}})</ref>
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| ===Death===
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| {{See also|Kali Yuga}}
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| Kali dies one-third of the way through the [[Kalki Purana]]. During the decisive battle between Kali and Kalki's armies, Kali tried to face both [[Dharma]] and [[Satya Yuga]] [[personified]], but was overwhelmed and fled on his [[donkey]] because his [[chariot]] had been destroyed, leaving his [[owl]]-[[charge (heraldry)|charged]] [[war flag]] to be trampled on the battlefield. Kali retreated to the [[citadel]] of his capital city of ''Vishasha'' where he discovered his body had been mortally stabbed and burned during his battle with the two devas. The stench of his blood billowed out and filled the atmosphere with a foul odor. When Dharma and Satya burst into the city, Kali tried to run away, but, knowing his family had been destroyed, coupled with his grievous wounds, he "entered his unmanifested years".<ref name=kalki/> This might lead some to believe he died, but one version of the Kalki Purana in the book ''The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology'' states Kali does not die but, instead, escapes through time and space to live in the [[Kali Yuga]] of the next [[Kalpa (aeon)|Kalpa]]. The author comments, "Unlike most battles between devas and asuras, however, this apparent victory is immediately undercut, for Kali escapes to reappear in 'another age'—in our age, or the next Kali Age."<ref>O'Flaherty, Wendy Doniger. ''The Origins of Evil in Hindu Mythology''. University of California Press, 1980 ({{ISBN|0520040988}})</ref> Since he had the power to manifest himself in human form on earth, he was able to forsake his dying corporeal form to escape in spirit.
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| ===Family lineage===
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| Kali is the great-great-grandson of [[Brahma]]. He is the son of ''Krodha'' (Anger) and his sister-turned-wife ''Himsa'' (Violence). He is the grandson of ''Dambha'' (Vanity) and his sister [[Maya (illusion)|Maya]] (Illusion). He is the great-grandson of [[Adharma]] (Impropriety) and his wife, ''Mithya'' (Falsehood). Adharma was originally created from Brahma's back as a ''Maleen Pataka'' (a very dark and deadly sinful object).
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| B. K. Chaturvedi, a modern translator of the [[Kalki Purana]], states in a footnote that the growth of this dark sinful object into Adharma seems to, "convey the growth of [[Kali Yuga]] and its obnoxious offshoots."<ref name=kalki/>
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| ====Vishnu Purana====
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| Kali's family lineage is told differently in the [[Vishnu Purana]], which is a father purana to the [[Kalki Purana]]:
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| The wife of ''Adharma'' (vice) was ''Himsá'' (violence), on whom he begot a son ''[[Anrita]]'' (falsehood), and a daughter ''Nikriti'' (immorality): they intermarried, and had two sons, ''Bhaya'' (fear) and ''[[Naraka (Hinduism)|Naraka]]'' (hell); and twins to them, two daughters, ''[[Maya (religion)|Maya]]'' (deceit) and Vedaná (grief), who became their wives. The son of Bhaya and Máyá was the destroyer of living creatures, or ''Mrityu'' (death); and ''Dukha'' (pain) was the offspring of Naraka and Vedaná. The children of Mrityu were ''Vyádhi'' (disease), ''Jará'' (decay), ''Soka'' (sorrow), ''[[Trishna (Vedic thought)|Trishńa]]'' (greediness), and ''Krodha'' (wrath). These are all called the inflictors of misery, and are characterised as the progeny of Vice (Adharma). They are all without wives, without posterity, without the faculty to procreate; they are the terrible forms of Vishńu, and perpetually operate as causes of the destruction of this world. On the contrary, [[Daksha]] and the other [[Rishis]], the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation; whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, constantly contribute to its preservation.
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| In this version, Himsa is Adharma's wife instead of his granddaughter.<ref name=sacred>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fr_212 CHAP. VII]</ref>
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| ====Bhagavata Purana====
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| According to the [[Bhagavata Purana]], Adharma is the husband of ''Mrishá'' (falsehood), and the father of ''Dambha'' (hypocrisy) and Máyá (deceit), who were adopted by ''Nirritti'' (Hindu goddess of misery). The series of their descendants is also somewhat varied from our text; being in each descent, however, twins which intermarry, or Lobha (covetousness) and Nikriti, who produce Krodha (wrath) and Hinsá: their children are, Kali (wickedness) and Durukti (evil speech): their progeny are, Mrityu and Bhí (fear); whose offspring are, Niraya (hell) and Yátaná (torment).<ref name=text>See [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fn_212 55:14]</ref>
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| In this version, Mrisha is the wife of Adharma and not Himsa or Mithya.
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| ====Linga Purana====
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| The [[Linga Purana]] enumerates Adharma among the [[Prajapatis]] (Lords of Creatures).<ref name=text/>
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| ====Dharma personified====
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| Since [[Dharma]] is one of the major antagonists of Kali, it is important to note this [[personified]] deity has his own line of offspring that work against the asura and his family to bring balance to the world. The following comes from the [[Vishnu Purana]]:
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| The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of [[Daksha]] were as follows: by ''Sraddha'' he had ''[[Kama]]'' (desire); by ''Lakshmi'', ''Darpa'' (pride); by ''Dhriti'', ''[[Niyama]]'' (precept); by ''Tushti'', ''Santosha'' (content); by ''Pushti'', ''Lobha'' (cupidity); by ''Medhá'', ''Sruta'' (sacred tradition); by ''[[Kriya]]'', ''[[Danda]]'', ''Naya'', and ''[[Vinaya]]'' (correction, polity, and prudence); by ''[[Buddhi]]'', ''[[Bodha]]'' (understanding); by ''Lajj'', ''[[Vinaya]]'' (good behaviour); by ''Vapu'', ''Vyavasaya'' (perseverance). ''Santi'' gave birth to ''Kshema'' (prosperity); ''[[Siddhi]]'' to ''[[Sukha]]'' (enjoyment); and ''Kírtti'' to ''Yasas''. These were the sons of Dharma; one of whom, ''[[Kama]]'', had ''Hersha'' (joy) by his wife ''Nandi'' (delight).
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| Again, the [[Bhagavata Purana]] gives a different account of his children's names.<ref>See [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/vp/vp041.htm#fn_211 55:13]</ref>
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| It is described in [[Mahabharata]] as the eldest [[Pandava]] brother, [[Yudhishthira]] was the son of Dharma.
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| ====Progeny====
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| Kali's sister-turned-wife, ''Durukti'' ([[Calumny]]), gave him two offspring: a son named ''Bhayanak'' (Fear) and a daughter named ''Mrityu'' (Death). His son and daughter gave him two grandchildren: a boy named ''[[Naraka (Hinduism)|Naraka]]'' (Hell) and a girl named ''Yatana'' (Torture).<ref name=kalki/> Again, there are some discrepancies here. The [[Vishnu Purana]] says Mrityu and Bhayanak are his brother and sister. Mrityu is even represented as male instead of female.<ref name=kalki/>
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| Kali is the grandfather of [[Manu (Hinduism)|Svarocisa Manu]], one of the progenitors of mankind.<ref name=sva/> As previously mentioned, Kali had a son named Svarocisa with the [[Apsaras|Apsara]] Varuthini. Svarocisa once traveld to Mt. Mandara and was met by ''Manorama'', a cursed-woman being chased by a asura. In the past, she had made fun of a [[Rishi|sage]] practicing [[Tapasya]] austerities on Mt. Kailas and was cursed to be captured by a asura. When her friends ''Vibhavari'' and ''Kalavati'' berated the sage for enacting a curse for such a minor offence, he cursed one to be a [[leper]] and the other a carrier of diseases. Manorama had knowledge of a powerful spiritual weapon, but did not know how to wield it, so she taught it to Svarocisa. When the asura leaped out of the forest and grabbed ahold of the woman, Svarocis called forth the weapon. But the asura stayed his hand and explained he was actually Manorama's father, ''Indivara''. He had also been cursed to become a asura by the sage ''Brahmamitra'' because he tried to covertly obtain the secrets of [[Ayurveda]] medicine without the sage's knowledge. The sage told him that the curse would end when he was about to eat his own daughter. Once he regained his true form, Indivara taught Svarocisa the Ayurveda medication, which he used to cure Manorama's friends. He later married the three and had three sons with them. He learned the languages of all creatures from Vibhavari and the ''Padmini vidya'' from Kalavati.
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| Despite his prosperity, Svarocis was unhappy in his life and could hear the ducks and deer talking about him behind his back. One day he went hunting and took aim at a boar, but a deer came through the clearing and asked to be shot in its place. When he enquired why, the deer told him that she was really the goddess of the forest and wished to marry Svarocisa. So he embraced the deer and she turned into a beautiful woman. Together, they had a son named ''Dyutiman'', who later became the Svarocisa Manu.<ref name=sva/>
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| One source states, "Kali's wife [[Alakshmi]] and her sons who supervise evil also came from Kshirasagara [the ocean of milk]."<ref name=edu/> Alakshmi is the elderly twin sister of the Goddess [[Lakshmi]], the consort of Vishnu.<ref name=lak/> Since the Kalki Purana states his wife ''Durukti'' is his sister, Alakshmi would be a second wife because she is not directly related to him.
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| There are a number of connections and similarities between Kali and Alakshmi. First and foremost, Alakshmi's sister is the consort of Lord [[Vishnu]], who sent his [[Kalki]] avatar to earth to defeat Kali.<ref name=lak>Pattanaik, Devdutt. ''Lakshmi: The Goddess of Wealth and Fortune-An Introduction''. Vakils Feffer & Simons Ltd, 2003 ({{ISBN|8187111585}})</ref> Second, legends say she was born either from the churning of the ocean of milk, the poison from [[Vasuki (snake)|Vasuki]] (who helped churn the ocean) or the back of [[Prajapati]].<ref name=lak/><ref>Krishna, Nanditha. ''The Book of Vishnu''. Penguin Global, 2001 ({{ISBN|0670049077}})</ref> As previously mentioned, Kali is said to have been born from the [[halahala]] poison created from churning the ocean or from a lineage created from Lord [[Brahma]]’s back.<ref name=kalki/><ref name=edu/> Third, Alakshmi takes the form of an owl.<ref name=lak/> Kali's emblem on his [[war flag]] is of an owl.<ref name=kalki/> Fourth, whenever Alakshmi enters a house, families fight and turn on one another.<ref>Chakrabarty, Dipesh. ''Provincializing Europe''. Princeton University Press, 2000 ({{ISBN|0691049092}})</ref> The presence of Kali and his family on earth causes mankind to fight and turn on one another. Finally, Alakshmi is said to ride a donkey.<ref name=lak/> Kali also rides a donkey in the [[Kalki Purana]].<ref name=kalki/>
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| ==Contemporary representation==
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| {{further|Communalism (South Asia)|Religious violence in India}}
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| [[Image:Cowdivine.jpg|thumb|right|Anti-beef eating pamphlet (1890 CE) showing Kali (far right) attempting to slaughter a sacred cow]]
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| [[Image:Sacred cow2.jpg|thumb|right|The color version run by the ''[[Raja Ravi Varma|Ravi Varma]] Press'' (c. 1912)]]
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| Kali's image was used in several [[pamphlets]] circulated by various ''Agorakshanasabh'' ("cow protection leagues") and "wandering ascetics" as a protest against the Muslim practice of beef-eating during the [[British raj]].<ref name=pic>Pinney, Christopher. ''Photos of the Gods: The Printed Image and Political Struggle in India''. Reaktion Books, 2004 ({{ISBN|1861891849}})</ref><ref name=gup>Gupta, Charu. ''Sexuality, Obscenity, And Community: Women, Muslims, and the Hindu Public in Colonial India.'' Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 ({{ISBN|0312295855}})</ref> These pamphlets were produced in a time when Hindu-Muslim riots over cow slaughter occurred in several areas of [[India]]; including [[Azamgarh district]] (1893), when a total of 100 people died in similar conflagrations throughout the empire; [[Ayodhya]] (1912–1913); and [[Shahabad, Rampur|Shahabad]] (1917).<ref name=beef>{{Cite web |url=http://www.indowindow.net/sad/article.php?child=17&article=11 |title=Paradox of the Indian Cow: Attitudes to Beef Eating in Early India |access-date=2007-03-10 |archive-date=2021-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211005317/http://www.indowindow.net/sad/article.php?child=17&article=11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> One such pamphlet entitled "The Present State" showed a cow being slaughtered by a trio of "[[Mohammedan|Muhammadan]]" butchers.<ref name=pic/><ref name=gup/> Another portrayed Kali raising a sword above the head of a sacred cow, whose body was illustrated to be a [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosmic]] paradise in which all the [[List of hindu gods|Hindu gods]] resided. There were many different editions of this version. For instance, one showed a woman labeled "The Hindu" waiting with bowl-in-hand for the cow's calf to finish suckling before she could get milk. A form of [[Krishna]] labeled ''Darmaraj'' ("Ruler of Dharma") stood ''behind'' the cow and Kali was, again, harassing her with his sword. Still, a different one deleted the woman and calf and instead portrayed Dharmaraj ''in front'' of the cow pleading ''mat maro gay sarv ka jivan hai'' ("don't kill the cow, everyone is dependent on it"), while Kali rebuts ''he manusyaho! Kaliyugi Mansahari jivom ko dekho'' ("mankind, look at the meat-eating souls of the [[Kali Yuga]]").<ref name=pic/>
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| Some Hindus considered Kali's presence in the picture to be a representation of the Muslim community.<ref name=pic/><ref name=gup/> When one of the versions of these pamphlets came into the possession of a state official in 1893, he commented that the image "contained a representation of a Musalman [Muslim] advancing to slay the cow ...".<ref name=pic/> One book states, "The Magistrate [at [[Deoria, Uttar Pradesh|Deoria]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> found Muhammadans excited because they heard a picture was in circulation representing a Muhammadan with a sword drawn sacrificing a cow, and this they considered an insult."<ref name=pic/> In 1915, a color version of this picture run by the ''Ravi Varma Press''<ref>A [[lithograph]] press founded by Indian artist [[Raja Ravi Varma|Ravi Varma]] in 1894.[http://www.india-today.com/itoday/millennium/100people/ravivarma.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411151255/http://www.india-today.com/itoday/millennium/100people/ravivarma.html|date=2009-04-11}}</ref> caught the attention of the colonial censors and was presumably censored in some way.<ref name=pic/>
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| ==In popular culture==
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| ''Nala Damayanti'' (1921): This big-budget film depicts a famous episode from the [[Mahabharata]], starting with [[Narada]]'s ascent of [[Mount Meru]]. It shows [[Swarga]], the Heaven of [[Indra]], the Transformation in the Clouds of the Four Gods into impersonations of King Nala, Swan Messengers of Love, the Transformation of Kali into a Serpent, the Meeting of Kali and Dwarpa and the Four Gods amidst the Blue Air.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154931/plotsummary Plot Summary for Nala Damayanti (1921)]</ref>
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| To differentiate him from the goddess Kali, the asura Kali is sometimes referred to as "Kalipurush" (Kali the being), a somewhat 'understood' convention since [[Purusha]] per se is one of Hinduism's notoriously non-consensual phrases before which sense of it is intended in a particular usage is also indicated.<ref>Angelika Malinar, 'Hindu Cosmologies', in [[Jessica Frazier]] (ed.) ''A Continuum Companion to Hindu Studies'', p. 80. {{ISBN|978-0-8264-9966-0}}</ref>
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| === Films and Television ===
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| The Role of demon kali depicted in Films
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| {| class="wikitable sortable"
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| !Films
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| !Played by
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| |-
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| |Nala Damayanti (1921 film)
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| |Khorshedji Bilimoria
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| |-
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| |Nal Damayanti (1988)
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| |Nalin Dave
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| |}
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| === Television ===
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| {| class="wikitable sortable"
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| !Television serial
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| !Played by
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| |-
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| |[[Krishna (TV series)]]
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| |PramodKapoor as Kali (cameo appearance)
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| |-
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| |[[Devi Adi Parashakti]]
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| |[[Arpit Ranka]] as Kali
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| |-
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| |}
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| ==Notes==
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| {{reflist|2}}
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| ==External links==
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723163320/http://www.bapcast.org/audio/2006/bapcast_047_20060323.mp3 Places of Kali] – Podcast of Kali's tale from the [[Bhagavata Purana]].
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080612045556/http://www.swargarohan.org/Bhagavata/Chapter01/09.htm કલિયુગનાં ચાર આશ્રયસ્થાન (Kaliyuga's mainstay)] – The tale of Kali and [[Parikshit]] in [[Gujarāti script|Gujarati]].
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| *[http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto1/c1-contents.html Srimad Bhagavatam: Cant 1] – See chapters 16 and 17.
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| *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070701045714/http://www.krsna-art.com/paints/viewImage.asp?image=KA2_094.jpg A very large detailed painting of King Parikshit about to kill Kali.]
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| *[[Kaliyan]] (Boons received by Kali)
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| {{HinduMythology}}
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| {{authority control}}
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| [[Category:Kali (demon)| ]]
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| [[Category:Demons in Hinduism]]
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| [[Category:Rakshasa]]
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| [[Category:Antichrist]]
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