''Kali Yuga'' (
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
: कलियुग), in
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
, is the fourth, shortest, 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.
According to
Puranic sources,
Krishna's death marked the end of ''
Dvapara Yuga'' and the start of ''Kali Yuga'', which is dated to 17/18 February 3102
BCE.
Lasting for 432,000 years (1,200 divine years), ''Kali Yuga'' began years ago and has years left as of
CE.
''Kali Yuga'' will end in the year 428,899 CE.
Near the end of ''Kali Yuga'', when virtues are at their worst, a cataclysm and a re-establishment of ''
dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
'' occur to usher in the next cycle's ''Krita (Satya) Yuga'', prophesied to occur by
Kalki
Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...
.
Etymology
''
Yuga'' (), in this context, means "an age of the world", where its archaic spelling is ''yug'', with other forms of ''yugam'', , and ''yuge'', derived from ''yuj'' (), believed derived from (
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
: 'to join or unite').
''Kali Yuga'' () means "the age of
Kali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
", "the age of darkness", "the age of vice and misery", or "the age of quarrel and hypocrisy".
A complete description of ''Kali Yuga'' is found in the ''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'', ''
Manusmriti
The ''Manusmṛti'' (), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or the Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitutions among the many ' of Hinduism.
Over fifty manuscripts of the ''Manusmriti'' are now known, but the earli ...
'', ''
Vishnu Smriti'', and various
.
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 centuryCE):
Other
epigraphs exist with named ''yugas'' in the
Old Mysore region of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, published in ''
Epigraphia Carnatica''.
Start date

The start date and time of ''Kali Yuga'' was at midnight (00:00) on 17/18 February 3102 BCE.
Astronomer and mathematician
Aryabhata
Aryabhata ( ISO: ) or Aryabhata I (476–550 CE) was the first of the major mathematician-astronomers from the classical age of Indian mathematics and Indian astronomy. His works include the '' Āryabhaṭīya'' (which mentions that in 3600 ' ...
, who was born in 476 CE, finished his book ''
Aryabhatiya'' in 499 CE, in which he wrote "When the three yugas (satyug, tretayug and dwaparyug) have elapsed and 60 x 60 (3,600) years of kaliyug have already passed, I am now 23 years old." Based on this information, ''Kali Yuga'' began in 3102 BCE, which is calculated from 3600 - (476 + 23) + 1 (no
year zero from 1 BCE to 1 CE).
According to K. D. Abhyankar, the starting point of Kali Yuga is an extremely rare planetary alignment, which is depicted in the
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro (; , ; ) is an archaeological site in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan. Built 2500 BCE, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation, and one of the world's earliest major city, cities, contemp ...
seals.
Duration and structure
Hindu texts
Hindu texts or Hindu scriptures are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. Some of the major Hindus, Hindu texts include the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Itihasa. ...
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 ( ''yuga'' proper) preceded by its (dawn) and followed by its (dusk), where each
twilight
Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...
(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.
''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 last 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 3102BCE:
''
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'', Book 12 (
Shanti Parva), Ch. 231:
''
Manusmriti
The ''Manusmṛti'' (), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or the Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitutions among the many ' of Hinduism.
Over fifty manuscripts of the ''Manusmriti'' are now known, but the earli ...
'', Ch. 1:
''
Surya Siddhanta'', Ch. 1:
10,000-year sub-period
A dialogue between
Krishna
Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...
and
Ganga found in the ''
Brahma Vaivarta Purana'' describes that for the first 10,000 years of ''Kali Yuga'', the ill effects of ''Kali Yuga'' will be reduced due to the presence of
bhakti yogis and the ability to nullify sinful reactions, after which Earth will be devoid of devout religious people and be shackled by ''Kali Yuga''.
[ (verses 49–60)] Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...
believes this sub-period started later in ''Kali Yuga'' with the birth of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...
(1486 CE).
Characteristics
Hinduism often symbolically represents morality (''
dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
'') as an Indian bull. In the
Satya Yuga, the first stage of development, the bull has four legs, which is reduced by one in each age that follows. The four legs of Dharma are , , and . 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, the one representing .
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.
Prophesied events
A discourse by
Markandeya in the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
identifies some of the attributes of people, animals, nature, and weather during the Kali Yuga.
Other usage
The Kali Yuga is an important concept in both
Theosophy
Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
and
Anthroposophy,
and in the writings of
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an internat ...
,
W.Q. Judge,
Rudolf Steiner, the
esoteric Nazi-sympathiser Savitri Devi and
Traditionalist philosophers such as
René Guénon and
Julius Evola, among others. Rudolf Steiner believed that the Kali Yuga ended in 1900.
See also
*
Hindu eschatology
Hindu eschatology is linked to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe.
The current period is believed by Hindus to be th ...
*
Hindu units of time
**
Kalpa (day of
Brahma
Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...
)
**
Manvantara
A ''manvantara'', in Hindu cosmology, is a cyclic period of time identifying the duration, reign, or age of a Manu, the progenitor of mankind. In each ''manvantara'', seven Rishis, certain deities, an Indra, a Manu, and kings (sons of Manu) are ...
(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)
*
Kali ahargana
*
List of numbers in Hindu scriptures
*
Puranic chronology
Explanatory notes
References
Further reading
External links
*
{{Doomsday
Eight Yugas
Four Yugas
Hindu eschatology
Kali (demon)
Prophecy in Hinduism