Description of the End of Time in Hindu Scriptures and its Comparison with Present Time

Subject Areas : Christianity

Saeed Karimpur ¹ , Fayyaz Gharaei ²

1 - Comparative Religion, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran
2 - Religions and Mysticism, Theology, Ferdowsi University 0f Mashhad

Received: 2020-02-04 Accepted : 2020-02-04 Published : 2019-08-23

Keywords: Hinduism, cyclical time, The End of Time, Kali Yuga, Kalki,

Abstract :

The time in Hinduism is considered in a way different from that of Semitic religions. According to Hindu beliefs, the time is a complication of recurrent internal circles which repeat regularly, and the shortest of them is constituted of four periods which the last of them is called Kali Yuga. So, the Kali Yuga can be considered somehow as ‘the End of Time’ in Hinduism. The Hindu Scriptures have described Kali Yuga mostly with a character of prevailing of the bad over the good, and refer to appearance of a savior who will make the good prevail on the bad, and will provide a way to enter a new glorious period of time, which is the first period of the next regular circle. However, the fine examinations show that there is a slight discord between the texts, and such an unpleasant description of Kali Yuga comes from the especial situations during which the later Hindu texts were written. In this article, we will examine the concept of ‘circling time’ in Hindu beliefs and the descriptions of Kali Yuga in Hindu scriptures, and we will examine also the ideas which compare it with different periods of the history, especially with the period of time in which we live.

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