Kali (demon)

Kali (demon)

In Hinduism, Kali (IAST: káli; Tamil: கலி ; Devnāgari: कलि; from a root kad "suffer, grieve, hurt; confound, confuse") is the reigning lord of Kali Yuga and archenemy of Kalki, the 10th and final Avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. In the Kalki Purana, he is portrayed as a demon and the source of all evil. In the Mahabharata, he was a gandharva who possessed Nala, forcing him to lose his Kingdom in a game of dice to his brother Pushkara. His most famous incarnation is the Kaurava King Duryodhana. Kali is similar to the demon Kroni and his incarnation Kaliyan of Ayyavazhi mythology.