Kaliyan

Key takeaways

Kaliyan belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kaliyan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kaliyan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kali (Kaliyan in Tamil) was the sixth fragment of the primordial manifestation of Kroni (evil) according to Akilathirattu, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology and the holy book of Ayyavazhi religion. Unlike other previous manifestations, Kali spread in this yugam (yukam in Tamizh) as maya (illusion). Details of Kali were restated in Ayyavazhi Religion and he is the same Kali mentioned in Kalki Purana.

Kali Yugam

As the time is close to the ascendancy of Kali Yuga, a sage named Guru Muni told Shiva, "Your greatness, the Kroni was created and fragmented into six parts. Five of those parts were made to take birth. However, because none of them obeyed you, all were destroyed by Vishnu(Mayon/Thirumal in Tamizh), and his spirit (the spirit Vishnu took only in the Avatars) was kept in Parvatha Ucchi Malai (In Sanskrit 'uccha' means high, in Tamil 'malai' means mountain). Nonetheless, by the sixth fragment, Kroni still has a birth in Kali Yugam." He also requested that in this yugam his sixth fragment should be created with a body with eight chans (spans - distance from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger extended). Shiva made a proposal to create Kali, in the following manner. Accepting Guru Muni's request, Shiva replied, "Good. Didn't Vishnu have to come?" Deva Muni replied, "Vishnu was in his ‘Sleep of Wisdom’ (sleeping) in the world." Hearing this, Shiva assembled the following beings: Vasishta Guru of Govuha(? Needs Sanskrit equivalent), Devas of Deiva Lokam, the members of Vaikunta Lokam Kinneras(Kina nathar in Tamizh), Kimpurusha(Kimburudar in Tamizh), and members from all other worlds. He also assembled all the Deiva Ganas. Then he asked the gathering, Is Vishnu in Vaikuntam? If he is not there, then where is he? The conclave repeated that, Vishnu was dead lying (without any activities) in the lower world (Earth). Hearing this, Shiva replied, "All the previous five fragments were destroyed since they did not respect us. Now it’s his sixth birth, but, even now, he doesn’t realize that no other chances will be provided and he will be sentenced to death. And so, in this birth, he will be created as a human being with the following talents: aesthetics, wisdom, beauty, and sharp intelligence. In the previous Yugas, Vishnu took a body of four spans and head one span. In this yuga, Kali will be given a body the same size of that of Vishnu in all previous yugas. That way, Kali will have no reason for his defeat to argue that is similar to the previous ones. Does anyone have any opinions or objections about it?" The proposal was accepted unanimously by the Devas, chiranjeevin sages, and the brahmins, those who read scriptures. Therefore, Shiva decided to create Kali.

Birth of Kali At the very moment Shiva made his decision, Kali formed, as a human male, and pushed himself out of the earth in an inverted form. All of Shiva's advisors were amazed and moved by this sight. All of those who witnessed the creation of Kali went to Sivan and reported it to him. At once, Shiva rise from his seat and started walking to see this wonder. Then Nandhi/Nandheesha(Nantheesurar in Tamizh) came across him and said, "Your greatness, you are the one who can’t wholly be known, even by devas. Why are you here? Can I know the reason?" Sivan replied, "I heard that there is a being, born inverted, against dhanam (rule of the land), whose legs were towards sky and head towards flower (flower here - earth). So I am going there, because I want to see it for myself". Hearing this, Nandhi complained, "Dhanam was overtaken, not there, but here. If something happened, you would normally be on your seat, up in Kayilai, and you would control everything. But now all the procedures are disintegrated. Because you stood up from your seat, the whole world will suffer and the dharmam will dissolve. Warfare and deception will rule the world. The land will lack rainfall. The true scripture, which tells about the Brahmam, will be substantially lost." Because of his complaint, Nandhi, along with Siva, returned to Kailaasham.(Kayilai in Tamizh)

Nature of Kaliyan After getting back to Kailaasham, Nandhi told Shiva, "We'll call Chithira Buthira (Chithira Buthira in Tamizh) and ask him to describe Kali". This request was honored. Chithra Buthira described Kali thusly: "He was born from the sixth fragment of Kroni. His body was made by assembling earth, sky and fire. The water will be Kali's strength. The vayu (air) will be the prana for him. Kali will be the most cruel one, of all the six fragments." Chithira Buthira also noted that Mayon had taken a 4-span body in the previous yugas, as Narasimha, Rama, and Krishna, and so Kali, in this yuga, was born with the body of same size, and he pushed himself out of the earth. After hearing this, Shiva asked Chitra Buthira to tell about Kali's lifespan, qualities, and power. Chitra Buthira responded with a narrative. Buthira said, "Because [Kali] was born without the instrumentality of normal human parentage, all the 96 Tatvas in his physique are rude and unrefined. Also, because of his unusual birth, he would have his intelligence and five senses rooted in falsehood. His eyes, legs and head will lead Kali towards sin. His nature is not knowing the true nature of the things here. He will have a life span of about a hundred years, and he will attain maturity at the age of fourteen. He will have about ten hundred thousand drops of semen in his body." (Some sources claim this as 10 lakh drops of blood, not semen). "He will attain full bodily maturity at the age of 31. Kali's body, which was built up with blood, bone, veins and muscle, are made of water and earth, and this is used for nothing (useless). His body will have 9 openings outside. This toy (i.e., body) will be controlled by a bird (i.e., soul), and when it’s time for the bird to go, it will fly away, leaving the toy here, and thereby the bird will have no relation with the toy. This bird and the body is free for him in this yuga. And until the bird is with him, Kali's savageness cannot be tolerated. Since his nature is like this, and since he is built up of savageness, he will not be thankful."

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kaliyan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kaliyan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kaliyan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kaliyan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kaliyan

In research: Kaliyan appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kaliyan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kaliyan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ayyavazhi mythical figures, Ayyavazhi mythology, Creation myths, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kaliyan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Kaliyan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kaliyan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kaliyan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kaliyan in simple terms?

Kali (Kaliyan in Tamil) was the sixth fragment of the primordial manifestation of Kroni (evil) according to Akilathirattu, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology and the holy book of Ayyavazhi religion. Unlike other previous manifestations, Kali spread in this yugam (yukam in Tamizh) as maya (illusion).

Why does Kaliyan matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kaliyan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kaliyan.