According to the Mahabharata, the gandharva Kali became jealous when he was late to Princess Damayanti's marriage ceremony and discovered she had overlooked the deities Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama (and ultimately himself) to choose Nala as her husband.

[1]Kali traveled to the great Nala's kingdom of Nishadhas and waited twelve long years for the right moment to strike.

This skill awakened Nala from Kali's control and allowed him (with the help of Damayanti's curse and Karkotaka's venom) to exorcise the asura (demon);[2] vomiting him in the form of poison from his mouth.

Despite the advice from Vidura to discard the evil baby, Duryodhana's father Dhritarashtra kept the child because of his blind love for his son and overlooked his responsibility as the King.

Upon insisting, Parikshit allowed him five places to reside: where there is gambling, alcohol consumption, prostitution, animal slaughter and illicitly acquired gold.

On hearing this, the king forswore the throne for his son Janamejaya and spent his last seven days listening to the discourses of sage Shuka, compiled as the Bhagavata Purana under the banyan tree of Shukratal.

The Kalki Purana says that this asura (demon) chose gambling, liquor, prostitution, slaughter and illicitly obtained gold as his permanent abodes.

As they made love, Varuthini noticed that his body became flaming hot and believed it was because his Brahmin spirit was infused with the sacrificial fire.

[7] The Bhagavata Purana states the very day and moment avatar Krishna left this earth, Kali, "who promotes all kinds of irreligious activities", came into this world.

[8] After setting off to wage war against the evils of the world with his armies, Emperor Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, came across a Sudra dressed as a king who was beating a cow and an ox with a club.

Parikshit immediately led his chariot over to the scene and angrily berated the sudra for abusing the sacred cow and her mate.

[14] The beginning of the Kalki Purana describes Kali's lineage starting with the Brahma, his great-great-grandfather, and ending with the birth of his grandchildren.

The remainder of the tale describes Kalki's childhood, military training under the immortal Parashurama and assisting, training and teaching Kalki on Dharma, Karma, Artha and knowledge of most ancient and necessary wisdom with military and social perspective but also help, support and join his fight against evils as greater guidance, his marriage, his preparation for war against the asura Kali, and the decisive war between the two.

When Kali finally faces Kalki's forces, his entire family blood line is wiped out by the avatar's generals and he presumably dies from wounds inflicted by Dharma and Satya Yuga personified.

Kalki, meanwhile, battles and simultaneously kills the asura's most powerful generals, Koka and Vikoka, twin devils adept in the dark arts.

[3] According to a lesser known Madhva version of the legend, during the churning of the ocean of milk, a great poison known as halahala was produced, which Vayu, the god of wind, rubbed in his hands to reduce its potency.

Because Kali was "invisible, unimaginable, and present in all" the only way to correct the chaos born from the miswritten texts was to completely renew the sacred scriptures entirely.

Kali retreated to the citadel of his capital city of Vishasha where he discovered his body had been mortally stabbed and burned during his battle with the two devas.

When Dharma and Satya burst into the city, Kali tried to run away, but, knowing his family had been destroyed, coupled with his grievous wounds, he "entered his unmanifested years".

The son of Bhaya and Máyá was the destroyer of living creatures, or Mrityu (death); and Dukha (pain) was the offspring of Naraka and Vedaná.

On the contrary, Daksha and the other rishis, the elders of mankind, tend perpetually to influence its renovation; whilst the Manus and their sons, the heroes endowed with mighty power, and treading in the path of truth, constantly contribute to its preservation.

[19] According to the Bhagavata Purana, Adharma is the husband of Mrishá (falsehood), and the father of Dambha (hypocrisy) and Máyá (deceit), who were adopted by Nirritti (Hindu goddess of misery).

The series of their descendants is also somewhat varied from our text; being in each descent, however, twins which intermarry, or Lobha (covetousness) and Nikriti, who produce Krodha (wrath) and Hinsá: their children are, Kali (wickedness) and Durukti (evil speech): their progeny are, Mrityu (death) and Bhí (fear); whose offspring are, Niraya (hell) and Yátaná (torment).

[20] Since Dharma is one of the major antagonists of Kali, it is important to note this personified deity has his own line of offspring that work against the asura and his family to bring balance to the world.

The following comes from the Vishnu Purana: The progeny of Dharma by the daughters of Daksha were as follows: by Shraddha he had Kama (desire); by Lakshmi, Darpa (pride); by Dhriti, Niyama (precept); by Tushti, Santosha (content); by Pushti, Lobha (cupidity); by Medhá, Sruta (sacred tradition); by Kriya, Danda, Naya, and Vinaya (correction, polity, and prudence); by Buddhi, Bodha (understanding); by Lajja, Vinaya (good behaviour); by Vapu, Vyavasaya (perseverance).

[3] Kali's image was used in several pamphlets circulated by various Agorakshanasabh ("cow protection leagues") and "wandering ascetics" as a protest against the Muslim practice of beef-eating during the British raj.

[25][26] These pamphlets were produced in a time when Hindu-Muslim riots over cow slaughter occurred in several areas of India; including Azamgarh district (1893), when a total of 100 people died in similar conflagrations throughout the empire; Ayodhya (1912–1913); and Shahabad (1917).

[25][26] Another portrayed Kali raising a sword above the head of a sacred cow, whose body was illustrated to be a microcosmic paradise in which all the Hindu gods resided.

[25][26] When one of the versions of these pamphlets came into the possession of a state official in 1893, he commented that the image "contained a representation of a Musalman [Muslim] advancing to slay the cow ...".

[25] Nala Damayanti (1921): This big-budget film depicts a famous episode from the Mahabharata, starting with Narada's ascent of Mount Meru.