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The Kali Yuga is the final and most degenerate age in Hindu chronology, marking the end of a cosmic cycle. This "dark age" is characterized by a decline in morality and righteousness. It is believed to have begun in 3102 BCE, following the events of the Mahabharata war, and is predicted to last for 432,000 years.12

The Kali Yuga is one of four ages, or yugas, that make up a larger cosmic cycle called a mahayuga. The yugas are Krita, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali, each progressively shorter and representing a decline in human virtue. The Kali Yuga is associated with discord and strife, and at its end, the world is believed to be destroyed and then re-created as the cycle begins anew. The term "Kali" itself can refer to death and darkness, and is also the name of a Hindu goddess associated with these themes.132

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