Kalki and the Mahdi: The Twenty-Four Avatars of the Dasam Granth
The Dasam Granth, a text attributed to the tenth guru of Sikhism, Guru Gobind Singh, includes a composition with accounts of twenty-four avatars of the god Vishnu. The concluding story narrates the deeds of the future avatar Kalki and his battle with a figure named Mir Mahdi. Sikh exegesis of this text has often centered on why tales of Vishnu’s avatars appear in a Sikh text; this presentation will analyze this Kalki narrative in relation to other accounts of Vishnu’s final avatar and Indic accounts of the mahdi, a figure who in Islamic theology appears at the end of time.
Date: 19 January 2021, 14:00 (Tuesday, 1st week, Hilary 2021)
Venue: Venue to be announced
Speaker: Professor Robin Rinehart (Lafayette College)
Organising department: Asian Studies Centre
Organiser contact email address: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Modern South Asian Studies Seminar Series
Booking required?: Required
Booking url: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/modern-south-asian-studies-seminar-series-hilary-term-tickets-135658737937?utm_campaign=post_publish&utm_medium=email&utm_source=eventbrite&utm_content=shortLinkNewEmail
Booking email: asian@sant.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Public
Editor: Clare Salter