In
Hinduism,
Kali (
Devanagari: ,
IAST: , with both vowels short; from a
root , "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 incarnations are
Ravana and
Duryodhana. Kali is similar to the demon
Kroni and his incarnation
Kaliyan of
Ayyavazhi mythology.