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Hindu eschatology is linked to the figure ofKalki, or the tenth and lastavatar ofVishnu before the age draws to a close, andHarihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe.
The current period is believed by Hindus to be theKali Yuga, the last of fourYuga that make up the current age. It started whenKrishna left the Earth in 3102 BC or 5125 years from 2025.[a] Each period has seen a progressive decline in morality, to the point that in Kali Yuga quarrel and hypocrisy are norm. In Hinduism, time is cyclic, consisting of cycles or "kalpas". Eachkalpa lasts for 4.32 billion years and is followed by apralaya (dissolution) of equal length, which together make a period of one full day and night ofBrahma's 100 360-day year lifespan, who lives for 311 trillion, 40 billion years. The cycle ofbirth,growth,decay, and renewal at the individual level finds its echo in the cosmic order, yet is affected by the vagaries of divine intervention in Vaishnavism. Some Shaivites hold the view that he is incessantly destroying and creating the world.
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Within the currentKalpa (aeon) are 1,000 cycles of aChatur Yuga (epoch), each with fouryugas (ages). These ages encompass a beginning of complete purity to a descent into total decay, adevolution ofdharmic principles.
AChatur Yuga lasts for 4.32 million years:[1]
TheRigveda andAtharvaveda reflect a deep concern with the nature of existence beyond death. Several key terms, such as asu (vital force), prana (breath), manas (mind), jiva (life principle), and atman (self), appear throughout these texts.[2]
TheUpanishads introduced three key ideas to Hindu eschatology: the doctrine ofsamsara (the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth), a redefined concept of karma that encompasses all actions influencing rebirth or liberation (moksha ornirvana), and three distinct destinies based on knowledge and actions.[2]
Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages, is the one in which we currently reside. This epoch has been foretold to be characterized by impiety, violence, and decay. As written in theVishnu Purana in 100 BCE:
Social status depends not upon your accomplishments, but in the ownership of property; wealth is now the source of virtue; passion and luxury are the sole bonds between spouses; falsity and lying are the conditions of success in life; sexuality is the sole source of human enjoyment; religion, a superficial and empty ritual, is confused with spirituality
— Vishnu Purana[3]
The fourth age is ruled over byKali, not the goddess Kāli but thedemon Kali.[3] Puranas go on to write that kings in the fourth age will be godless, wanting in tranquility, quick to anger, and dishonest. They will inflict death on women, and children, and will rise and fall to power quickly. Undisciplined barbarians will receive the support of rulers.[citation needed]
From the four pillars ofdharma—penance, charity, truthfulness, and compassion—charity will be all that remains, although it too will decrease daily. People will commit sin in mind, speech and action. Plague, famine, pestilence and natural calamities will appear. People will not believe one another, falsehoods will win disputes, and brothers will become avaricious. As each age progresses, the human life span decreases, starting from thousands of years in theSatya Yuga to 100 years in the current Kali Yuga.[3]
Sannyasins will wear red. There will be many false religions, and many will profess false knowledge to earn their livelihood. Life will be short and miserable. Marriage will be for pleasure alone. Being dry of water will be the only definition of land, and any hard to reach water will define a pilgrimage destination. People will hide in valleys between mountains, and suffering from cold and exposure, people will wear clothes of tree bark and leaves. People will live less than twenty-three years and the pretense of greatness will be the proof of it. Ultimately, humankind will be destroyed.[4]
At this time of evil, the final incarnation of Vishnu known asKalki will appear on a white horse. He will amass an army of those few pious souls remaining. These, together with all the incarnations of the Godhead (avatars) which have appeared throughout human history, will destroy all evil spirit and sins in the world.
As written in theGita:
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यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत । | Whenever there is decay of righteousness O! Bharatha |
Aditi is the mother of the twelve Adityas or solar deities. At the end of creation these eight suns will shine together in the skies. Kalki will amass an army to "establish righteousness upon the earth" and leave "the minds of the people as pure as crystal." Those left, transformed by virtue, will be the new seeds for a higher form of humanity, and humanity will begin again.[3]
Puranas write:
When the sun and moon, the lunar constellation Pushya, and the planet Jupiter are all in one mansion, the Krita age shall return to the earth.
— Hooper, 1508[3]
At the completion ofKali Yuga, the nextYuga Cycle (epoch) will begin,Satya Yuga, in which everyone will be righteous with the reestablishment of dharma and piety. This, in turn, will be followed cyclically by epochs ofTreta Yuga,Dvapara Yuga and again anotherKali Yuga. This cycle will repeat till the larger cycle of existence underBrahma returns to the singularity[failed verification] and a new universe is born.[4]
SriPotuluri Virabrahmendra Swami, wrote 400 years ago in hisDivya Maha Kala Gnana, or 'Divine Knowledge of the Time,' that Kalki would arrive when the moon, sun, Venus and Jupiter entered the same sign.[citation needed] This is not a rare occurrence and last happened in early 2012, passing without event.[citation needed]
According toMadeleine Biardeau,pralaya is a three-phase process. Initially, there is a devastating drought leading to the earth's desiccation. This is followed by what she terms the "double pralaya". During this process, Kalagnirudra, or Shiva, absorbs the three worlds (loka) through yogic fire. This is followed by a second absorption where Narayana, or Vishnu, reabsorbs the remains and all beings in floodwaters while resting in yogic sleep, subsequently recreating the worlds through Brahma.[6]
On a day-to-day basis, karma is implicitly weighed and taken into consideration by practitioners of Hinduism. In fact, this perspective on the long run consequences of daily actions has been shown to drastically impact consumer expectations in India. Empirical results support that "those who believe more strongly in karma are less influenced by disconfirmation sensitivity and therefore have higher expectations," noted by Praveen Kopalle, a professor at the Tuck School of Business. Although the advent of mass consumerism took India by storm at the turn of the century, research is showing that even in urban populations, consumer expectations are generally invariant to artificial lowering of expectations in order to increase short-term pleasure. This uniquely characterizes religions that practice long-term orientation or similar framing of action.[7]
In Hindu eschatology, karma is the central determinant in how one's soul progresses through the cyclical stages of life, death, and rebirth, as every consequence is perceived as having non-trivial weight. As a result, actions broader than the individual scope are also taken into consideration. For example, the prevalent link between Indian party politics and Hinduism has additionally led to religious-based explanations for issues the country faces. One instance of this is present in an academic journal detailing a perspective on the cause behind COVID, which states “the COVID-19 pandemic is also the cause-effect of karmic activity that caused and appeared as a novel and severe viral infectious disease. The karmic action identified as the cause of the epidemic is … a neoliberal capitalist order driven by endless greed, desire, delusion in today’s aggressive and competitive world.”[8] In accordance with Hindu eschatology, the current epoch of humanity is thekali yuga. As a cycle characterized by widespread suffering, hypocrisy, and the progressive degradation of morality, the pandemic arrived as a calamity of biblical proportions.[9]
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