Koka () and Vikoka () are

asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indian religions, Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, Buddhi ...

brothers from

Hindu literature Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These ...

. They are twin generals who are described to aid the asura

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

in his battle against

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

, the 10th and final

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

of the god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

, whose coming is believed to herald the end of the age. The story is told in the

Kalki Purana The ''Kalki Purana'' (IAST: ''Kalki purāṇa'') is a Vaishnavism-tradition Hindu text about the tenth avatar of Vishnu named Kalki. The Sanskrit text was likely composed in Bengal during an era when the region was being ruled by the Bengal Sult ...

Etymology

The etymology of Koka's name is obscure, and the Monier-Williams Sanskrit dictionary gives no ready definition; Vikoka's name is formed by adding ''Vi-'', used to form names from other names, to "Koka".

Legend

The prophecy of Kalki and his battle with Kali appears in the

, a collection of predictions concerning when, where and why Kalki will manifest himself and what he will do. According to

Hindu cosmology Hindu cosmology is the description of the universe and its states of matter, cycles within time, physical structure, and effects on living entities according to Hindu texts. Hindu cosmology is also intertwined with the idea of a creator who allo ...

the world will experience four long ages, or ''

yuga A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a long period, a very brief period, or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga'' and ...

s'', of which the ''

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four ''yugas'' (world ages) in a ''Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which is ...

'' is the last in a cycle. The ''Kali Yuga'' began in 3102 BCE and has around 4,270 centuries remaining. Kali, the asura-king of the ''Kali Yuga'', will be assisted by his generals, the twin brothers Koka and Vikoka, who will threaten to defeat Kalki by raising themselves from the dead, faster than he can kill them. The god

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

eventually appears to Kalki and reveals to him that no earthly or celestial weapon can kill the brothers if they are allowed to hold on to one another; the only way Kalki can defeat them is to separate and attack them both simultaneously. Kalki then forces himself between the two and lands crushing blows to each asura's temple at the same time. They both die, this time forever. The Kalki Purana states that Koka and Vikoka in their previous births were the grandsons of ''Shakuni'' and sons of ''Vrikasura'', who are not to be confused with the

Shakuni Shakuni ( sa, शकुनि, , ) plays a key role in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He is one of the main antagonists of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was the prince of the kingdom of Gandhara when introduced, later becoming its king a ...

and Vrikasura from the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

- the former are father and son, whereas the latter are unrelated.

Similarities

The names and deeds of these demon brothers are comparable to

Gog and Magog Gog and Magog (; he, גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג, ''Gōg ū-Māgōg'') appear in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran as individuals, tribes, or lands. In Ezekiel 38, Gog is an individual and Magog is his land; in Genesis 10, Magog is a man and epo ...

in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and Ya'jooj Wa Ma'jooj (يأجوج و مأجوج) of

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

tradition as they are mentioned in the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...

, ''The Reign of quantity and the signs of the times'', chapter 25, ''The fissures in the great wall''.

References

Citations

Publications

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Source

{{ISBN, 81-288-0588-6 Kali (demon) Hindu mythology Asura