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{{Short description|Hindu deity and concept}}
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'''Kala''' ({{langx|sa|काल|translit=Kālá/Kālam}},<ref>{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2019-09-14 |title=Kalam: 6 definitions |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/definition/kalam |access-date=2022-11-04 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA|sa|kɑːˈlə|IPA}}) is a [[Sanskrit]] term that means 'time'{{sfn|Dalal|2011|p=185}} or 'death'.<ref name="MW"/> As [[time personified]], destroying all things, Kala is a god of [[death]], and often used as one of the epithets of [[Yama]]. In [[Shaivism]], Kala is known as the fiery avatar of Shiva, [[Bhairava|Kala Bhairava]] or Kalagni Rudra; and in [[Vaishnavism]] Kala is also associated with [[Narasimha]] and [[Pralaya]].{{Sfn|Soifer|1991|p=102}} As applied to gods and goddesses, ''{{IAST|Kālá}}'' is not always distinguishable from ''{{IAST|kāla}}'', meaning 'black'.<ref name="MW"/>

==Etymology==
[[Monier-Williams]]'s widely used Sanskrit-English dictionary<ref name="MW">{{Cite web |url=https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/MWScan/2020/web/webtc/indexcaller.php |title=Sanskrit Dictionary<!-- 1899 Basic-->|year=1899| first = Monier|last=Monier-Williams|access-date=2023-10-04}}</ref> lists two distinct words with the form ''{{IAST|kāla}}'':
* ''{{IAST|kāla}}'' 1 means "black, of a dark colour, dark-blue ..." and has a feminine form ending in ''{{IAST|ī}}'' – ''{{IAST|kālī}}'' – as mentioned in {{IAST|[[Pāṇini]]}} 4–1, 42. 
* ''{{IAST|kālá}}'' 2 means "a fixed or right point of time, a space of time, time ... destiny, fate ... death" and has a feminine form (found at the end of compounds) ending in ''{{IAST|ā}}'', as mentioned in the ''{{IAST|ṛgveda}}'' ''{{IAST|Prātiśākhya}}''. As a [[Hindu units of measurement|traditional Hindu unit of time]], one ''kālá'' corresponds to 144 seconds.

According to Monier-Williams, ''{{IAST|kāla}}'' 2 is from the verbal root ''{{IAST|kal}}''  "to calculate", while the root of ''{{IAST|kāla}}'' 1 is uncertain, though possibly the same.<ref name=MW/>

As applied to gods and goddesses in works such as the ''{{IAST|Devī}}'' ''{{IAST|Māhātmya}}'' and the ''Skanda'' ''{{IAST|Purāṇa}}'', ''{{IAST|kāla}}'' 1 and ''{{IAST|kāla}}'' 2 are not readily distinguishable. Thus Wendy Doniger, translating a conversation between {{IAST|Śiva}} and {{IAST|Pārvatī}} from the ''Skanda'' ''{{IAST|Purāṇa}}'', says ''{{IAST|Mahākāla}}'' may mean " 'the Great Death' ... or 'the Great Black One' ".<ref>Doniger O'Flaherty, Wendy; ''Hindu Myths;'' Penguin, 1975; {{ISBN|0-14-044306-1}} footnote to page 253.</ref> And {{IAST|Swāmī}} {{IAST|Jagadīśvarānanda}}, a Hindu translator of the ''{{IAST|Devī}}'' ''{{IAST|Māhātmya}}'', renders the feminine compound ''{{IAST|kāla-rātri}}'' (where ''{{IAST|rātri}}'' means "night") as "dark night of periodic dissolution".<ref>{{IAST|Jagadīśvarānanda}} trans; ''Devi Mahatmyam'' (Sanskrit and English); Sri Ramakrishna Math, Madras, 1953; chapter 1 verse 78.</ref>

==Deity==
[[File:Mahakala_Statue_5516.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Murti]] of Kala, [[National Museum of Indonesia]].]]

=== Atharva Ved ===
Kala is described in 19th Kanda Sukta 53 and 54 in the [[Atharvaved]] as a deity in which the mind, breath and name of God pervades.<ref>https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Atharva-Veda_Samhita/Book_XIX/Hymn_53</ref>

=== Epics and the Puranas ===
Kala appears as an impersonal deity within the [[Mahabharata]], the [[Ramayana]], and the [[Bhagavata Purana]]. In the [[Bhagavad Gita]] (11.32), [[Krishna]], one of the main characters, reveals his identity as Time personified. He states to [[Arjuna]] that both sides on the battlefield of the [[Kurukshetra War]] have already been annihilated. At the end of the epic, the entire [[Yadu]] dynasty (Krishna's dynasty) is similarly annihilated.

Kala appears in the [[Uttara Kanda]] of the Ramayana, as the messenger of Death (Yama). At the end of the story, Time, in the form of inevitability or necessity, informs [[Rama]] that his reign on Earth is now over. By a trick or dilemma, he forces the death of [[Lakshmana]], and informs Rama that he must return to the realm of the gods. Lakshmana willingly passes away with Rama's blessing and Rama returns to [[Vaikuntha]].

Time appears in the Bhagavata Purana as the force that is responsible for the imperceptible and inevitable change in the entire creation. According to the Purana, all created things are illusory, and thereby subject to creation and annihilation, this imperceptible and inconceivable impermanence is said to be due to the march of Time. Similarly, Time is considered to be the unmanifest aspect of God that remains after the destruction of the entire world at the end of a lifespan of [[Brahma]]. According to Soifer, [[Narasimha]] is explicitly linked with [[Pralaya]] or Yuganta itself in [[Bhagavata Purana]], [[Linga Purana]], and [[Kurma Purana]] versions; he is said to appear like Kala or the fire of destruction, both agents of Pralaya.{{Sfn|Soifer|1991|p=102}}

In the [[Chaitanya Bhagavata]], a [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism|Gaudiya Vaishnava]] text and biography of [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]], it is said that the fire that emerges from the mouth of [[Balarama|Sankarshana]] at the End of Time is the ''Kālānala'', or "fire of Time".<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chaitanya-Bhagavata|last=Thakura|first=Vrndavana Dasa|others=Translated by Sarvabhavana Dasa|pages=203}}</ref> One of the names of Sankarshana is ''k''ā''l''ā''gni'', also "fire of time".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stephen-knapp.com/thousand_names_of_lord_balarama.htm|title=A Thousand Names of Lord Balarama}}</ref>

The [[Vishnu Purana]] also states that Time (kala) is one of the four primary forms of Vishnu, the others being matter ([[Pradhana]]), visible substance (vyakta), and Spirit ([[Purusha]]).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Vishńu Puráńa: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition|last=Wilson|first=Horace H.|year=1840|pages=ix|chapter=Preface}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Theory of Avatāra and Divinity of Chaitanya|last=Roy|first=Janmajit|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors|year=2002|location=New Delhi|pages=66|chapter=Signs and Symptoms of Avatārahood}}</ref> According to Pinchman, "It is said that at the time of primordial creation, three forms arise from [[Vishnu]]: time (kala), [[purusha]], and [[Prakriti|prakrti]]".{{Sfn|Pintchman|2001|p=83}}

===Bhagavad Gita===
At [[Bhagavad Gita]] 11.32, [[Krishna]] takes on the form of ''kāla'', the destroyer, announcing to Arjuna that all the warriors on both sides will be killed, apart from the Pandavas:

{{Blockquote|text=कालो ऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत् प्रवृद्धो लोकान् समाहर्तुम् इह प्रवृत्तः ।
{{Paragraph break}}Time (kāla) I am, the great destroyer of the worlds, and I have come here to destroy all people.<ref>See [https://www.bhagavad-gita.us/bhagavad-gita-11-32/ text and translation]</ref>|title=Bhagavad Gita|source=Verse 11.32}}

This phrase is famous for being quoted by [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]] as he reflected on the [[Manhattan Project]]'s explosion of the first nuclear bomb in 1945.

===In other cultures===
In Javanese mythology, [[Batara Kala]] is the god of destruction.  It is a very huge mighty and powerful god depicted as [[giant (mythology)|giant]], born of the sperm of [[Shiva]], the kings of gods.

In [[Borobudur]], the gate to the stairs is adorned with a giant head, making the gate look like the open mouth of the giant. Many other gates in Javanese traditional buildings have this kind of ornament. Perhaps the most detailed Kala Face in Java is on the south side of [[Candi Kalasan]].

In [[Thailand]], he is popular worshipped together with [[Lak Mueang]] within [[Tai folk religion]] and [[Chitragupta]] in [[Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bangkokcitypillarshrine.com/Content/God/ | title=ศาลหลักเมืองกรุงเทพมหานคร (Bangkok City Pillar Shrine) }}</ref>

== Jainism ==
[[File:Jain Cosmic Time Cycle.jpg|thumb|''kalachakra''s in Jainism]]
{{Main|Ajiva}}
[[File:Jain scale of time.JPG|thumb|Logarithmic scale of time used in Jain texts.]]

In [[Jainism]], Kāla (Time) is infinite and is explained in two different ways:
* The measure of duration, known in the form of hours, days, like that.
* The cause of the continuity of function of things.

However [[Jainism]] recognizes a very small [[measurement]] of time known as ''samaya'' which is an infinitely small part of a [[second]]. There are cycles (''kalachakra''s) in it. Each cycle having two eras of equal duration described as the ''[[avasarpini]]'' and the ''[[utsarpini]]''.

==See also==
*[[Kalachakra]]
*{{IAST|[[Kālī]]}}
*[[Mahakala]]
*[[Father Time]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last =Dalal | first =Roshen | year = | title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA185|access-date=19 December 2012|date=5 October 2011}}
* {{Citation | editor-last =Pintchman | editor-first =Tracy  | title =Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess | publisher =SUNY Press |date=2001}}
*{{cite book|last=Soifer|first=Deborah A.|year=1991|title=The Myths of Narasimha and Vamana: Two Avatars in Cosmological Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OoFDK_sDGHwC|publisher=SUNY Press|isbn = 9780791407998}}
{{refend}}

{{HinduMythology}}
{{Time Topics}}
{{Time in religion and mythology}}

{{commons category|Kala}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kala (Time)}}
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Time and fate gods]]
[[Category:Hindu philosophical concepts]]
[[Category:Asura]]
[[Category:Death gods]]