Kali (demon) - Puranic Accounts

Puranic Accounts

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 Upaasthi (worship) bone. The Kalki Purana says this demon "chose gambling, liquor, women and gold as his permanent abodes." 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)". The Bhagavata Purana describes him as a sudra wearing the garments of a king. An early 20th century anti-beef eating pamphlet protesting the slaughter of the sacred cow in India portrays Kali as a brownish-skinned demon with a dog-like face, protruding fangs, pointed ears, long green bushy hair and wearing a red loin cloth and golden jewelry. (See Religion and politics)

The names of the four yugas of time—Satya, Treta, Dvapara and 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. During the Mahabharata, king Nala exorcises the disembodied spirit of Kali to a vibhitaka tree, the nuts of which were used to create the dice for the vedic dice game. Therefore, not only Kali’s name, but his penchant for gambling and reputation as being evil comes from this dice game.