Kali

This article is about the form ofMahadevi.For the Supreme goddess of time and death, seeMahakali.For the consort ofVirabhadra,seeBhadrakali.For divine entity in Hinduism, seeKali (asura).For other uses, seeKali (disambiguation).

Kali(/ˈkɑːliː/;Sanskrit:काली,IAST:Kālī), also calledKalika,is a majorgoddessinHinduism,associated with time, death, violence, feminine power, and motherly love.Kali is the first of the tenMahavidyasin the Hindutantrictradition.

Kali
Mother Goddess; Goddess of Time, Death, Violence, Feminine power, and Motherly Love
Member of the TenMahavidyas
KalibyRaja Ravi Varma
Affiliation	Adi Shakti,Durga,Parvati,Mahakali,Bhadrakali,Mahavidyas,Devi,Shakti,Mariamman,Tara,Chinnamasta
Abode	Cremation grounds(but varies by interpretation),Manidvipa
Mantra	oṁ jayanti maṅgala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namostute oṁ krīṃ kālīkāya namaḥ
Weapon	Scimitar,Trishula(Trident)
Day	TuesdayandFriday
Mount	Canids
Texts	Devi-Bhagavata Purana,Devi Mahatmya,Kalika Purana,Shakta Upanishads,Tantras
Gender	Female
Festivals	Kali Puja,Navaratri
Consort	Shiva

Kali's earliest appearance is when she emerged fromDurga.The goddess is stated to destroyevilin order to defend the innocent. Over time, Kali has been worshipped by devotional movements and Tàntric sects variously as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, Principal energy (Adi Shakti).

ShaktaandTantricsects additionally worship Kali as the ultimate reality orBrahman.She is also seen as the divine protector and the one who bestowsmoksha,(liberation).Worshipped throughout South Asia but particularly in Nepal, South India, Bengal, and Assam; Kali is a central figure in Goddess-centric traditions of Hinduism as well as inShaivism.

Etymology

The termKaliis derived fromKala,which is mentioned quite differently inSanskrit.The homonymkālá(time) is distinct fromkāla(black), but these became associated throughpopular etymology. Kali, is then understood as, "she who is the ruler of time", or "she who is black".Kālī is the goddess of time or death and the consort of Shiva.She is called Kali Mata ( "the dark mother" ) and alsokālīwhich can be read here either as aproper nameor as a description "the dark or black one".

Origins

Although the wordKālīappears as early as theAtharva Veda,the first use of it as a proper name is in theKathaka Grhya Sutra(19.7). Kali originated as a tantric and non-Vedic goddess. Her roots are most probably connected to the Pre-Aryan period.According to IndologistWendy Doniger,Kali’s origins can be traced to the deities of the Pre-Vedic village, tribal, and mountain cultures of South Asia who were gradually appropriated and transformed by the Sanskritic traditions.

Legends

Her most well-known appearance is on the battlefield in the sixth century textDevi Mahatmyam.The deity of the first chapter ofDevi Mahatmyamis Mahakali, who appears from the body of sleepingVishnuas goddess Yoga Nidra to wake him up in order to protectBrahmaand the world from twoasuras(demons),Madhu-Kaitabha.When Vishnu woke up he started a war against the two asuras. After a long battle with Lord Vishnu when the two demons were undefeated Mahakali took the form of Mahamaya to enchant the two asuras. When Madhu and Kaitabha were enchanted by Mahakali, Vishnu killed them.

In later chapters, the story of two asuras who were destroyed by Kali can be found.Chanda and Mundaattack the goddessKaushiki.Kaushiki responds with such anger it causes her face to turn dark, resulting in Kali appearing out of her forehead. Kali's appearance is dark blue, gaunt with sunken eyes, and wearing a tiger skinsariand agarland of human heads.She immediately defeats the two asuras. Later in the same battle, the asuraRaktabijais undefeated because of his ability to reproduce himself from every drop of his blood that reaches the ground. Countless Raktabija clones appear on the battlefield. Kali eventually defeats him by sucking his blood before it can reach the ground, and eating the numerous clones. Kinsley writes that Kali represents "Durga's personified wrath, her embodied fury".

Other origin stories involve Parvati and Shiva. Parvati is typically portrayed as a benign and friendly goddess. TheLinga Puranadescribes Shiva asking Parvati to defeat the asuraDaruka,who received a boon that would only allow a female to kill him. Parvati merges with Shiva's body, reappearing as Kali to defeat Daruka and his armies. Her bloodlust gets out of control, only calming when Shiva intervenes. TheVamana Puranahas a different version of Kali's relationship with Parvati. When Shiva addresses Parvati as Kali, "the dark blue one", she is greatly offended. Parvati performs austerities to lose her dark complexion and becomes Gauri, the golden one. Her dark sheath becomesKaushiki,who while enraged, creates Kali.

In theDevi Bhagavata Purana,Kali turns black out of rage, while battling the demonsShumbha and Nishumbha.

Slayer of Raktabīja

In Kāli's most famous legend,Durgaand her assistants, theMatrikas,wound the demonRaktabīja,in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabīja, he reproduces a duplicate of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates.Durga summons Kāli to combat the demons. TheDevi Mahatmyamdescribes:

Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strangekhatvanga(skull-topped staff), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the greatasurasin that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas and caught the blood of Raktabīja before it could fall to the ground, stopping him from creating more duplicates.

Kali consumes Raktabīja and his duplicates, and dances on the corpses of the slain.InDevi Mahatmyaversion of this story, Kali is also described as aMatrikaand as aShaktior power ofDevi.She is given the epithetCāṃuṇḍā(Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demonsChanda and Munda.Chamundais very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.In Tantric Kali Kula Shaktism, Kali is the supreme goddess and source of all goddesses. InYoginī Tantra,Kālī killsKolasuraandGhorasura.

Iconography and forms

The goddess has two depictions: the popularfour-armedform and the ten-armed Mahakali avatar. In both, she is described as being black in colour, though she is often seen as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described asredwith intoxication and rage. Her hair is disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. Sometimes she dons a skirt made of human arms and agarland of human heads.Other times, she is seen wearing a tiger skin. She is also accompanied byserpentsand ajackalwhile standing on the calm and prostrate Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more populardakṣiṇācāra( "right-hand path" ), as opposed to the more infamous and transgressivevamachara( "left-hand path" ).These serpents and jackals are shown to drinkRaktabīja's blood as it drips out of his head while the goddess carries the head in her hand, preventing it from falling on the ground.

In the ten-armed form of Mahakali, she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces, ten feet, and three eyes for each head. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.

TheKalikaPuranadescribes Kali as "possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotus, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful".

WhenSri Ramakrishnaonce asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj, when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"

Popular form

A Tamil depiction of Kali.

Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:

Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a Khadga (crescent-shaped sword or a giant sickle), atrishul(trident), a severed head, and a bowl or skull-cup (kapāla) collecting the blood of the severed head. This is the form of Bhima Kali.

Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The sword signifies divine knowledge and the human head signifies human ego which must be slain by divine knowledge in order to attainmoksha.The other two hands (usually the right) are in theabhaya(fearlessness) andvarada(blessing)mudras,which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.This is the form of Dakshina Kali.

She wears agarland of human heads,variously enumerated at108(an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on ajapamalaor rosary for repetition ofmantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit Alpha bet,Devanagari.Hindus believeSanskritis a language ofdynamism,and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore, she is generally seen as the mother of language, and allmantras.

She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering ofMayasince she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above Prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is Brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities—she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, and bad do not apply to her.

Mahakali

Main article:Mahakali

Mahakali, goddess of time and death, depicted with a black complexion with ten heads, arms and legs.

Mahakali (Sanskrit:Mahākālī,Devanagari:महाकाली,Bengali:মহাকালী,Gujarati:મહાકાળી), literally translated as "Great Kali," is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality ofBrahman.It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali,signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant ofMahakalaorGreat Time(which is interpreted also asDeath), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of theDevi Mahatmya.Here, she is depicted as Devi in her universal form asShakti.Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.

Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which varies in different accounts, but each of these represents the power of one of theDevasor Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through hergrace.

The nameMahakali,whenkaliis rendered to mean "black", translates to Japanese asDaikoku( đại hắc ).

Dakshinakali

Dakshina Kali, with Shiva devotedly at her foot.

Dakshinakali is the most popular form of Kali in Bengal.She is the benevolent mother, who protects her devotees and children from mishaps and misfortunes. There are various versions for the origin of the nameDakshinakali.Dakshinarefers to the gift given to a priest before performing a ritual or to one's guru. Such gifts are traditionally given with the right hand. Dakshinakali's two right hands are usually depicted in gestures of blessing and giving of boons. One version of the origin of her name comes from the story ofYama,lord of death, who lives in the south (dakshina). When Yama heard Kali's name, he fled in terror, and so those who worship Kali are said to be able to overcome death itself.

Dakshinakali is typically shown with her right foot onShiva's chest—while depictions showing Kali with her left foot on Shiva's chest depict the even more fearsome Vamakali. Vamakali is usually worshipped by non-householders.

The pose shows the conclusion of an episode in which Kali was rampaging out of control after destroying many demons. Vishnu confronted Kali in an attempt to cool her down. She was unable to see beyond the limitless power of her rage and Vishnu had to move out of her way. Seeing this the devas became more fearful, afraid that in her rampage, Kali would not stop until she destroyed the entire universe. Shiva saw only one solution to prevent Kali's endless destruction. Shiva lay down on the battlefield so that Goddess Mahakali would have to step on him. When she saw her consort under her foot, Kali realized that she had gone too far. Filled with grief for the damage she had done, her blood-red tongue hung from her mouth, calming her down. In some interpretations of the story, Shiva was attempting to receive Kali's grace by receiving her foot on his chest.

The goddess is generally worshipped as Dakshina Kali (with her right feet on Shiva) in Bengal during Kali Puja.

There are many different interpretations of the pose held by Dakshinakali, including those of the 18th and 19th-century bhakti poet-devotees such asRamprasad Sen.Some have to do with battle imagery and tantric metaphysics. The most popular is a devotional view.

According to Rachel Fell McDermott, the poets portrayed Shiva as "the devotee who falls at [Kali's] feet in devotion, in the surrender of his ego, or in hopes of gainingmokshaby her touch. "In fact, Shiva is said to have become so enchanted by Kali that he performed austerities to win her, and having received the treasure of her feet, held them against his heart in reverence.

The popularity of the worship of the Dakshinakali form of Goddess Kali is often attributed toKrishnananda Agamavagisha.He was a noted 17th-century Bengali Tantra thinker and author ofTantrasara.Devi Kali reportedly appeared to him in a dream and told him to popularize her in a particular form that would appear to him the following day. The next morning he observed a young woman making cow dung patties. While placing a patty on a wall, she stood in thealidhapose, with her right foot forward. When she saw Krishnananda watching her, she was embarrassed and put her tongue between her teeth, Agamavagisha realized that this was the divine form of maa kali he was looking for.Krishnananda Agamavagisha was also the guru of the Kali devotee and poetRamprasad Sen.

Samhara Kali

Samhara Kali, also called Vama Kali, is the embodiment of the power of destruction. The chief goddess of Tantric texts, Samhara Kali is the most dangerous and powerful form of Kali. Samhara Kali takes form when Kali steps out with her left foot holding her sword in her right hand. She is the Kali of death, destruction and is worshipped by tantrics. As Samhara Kali she gives death and liberation. According to the Mahakala Samhita, Samhara Kali is two armed and black in complexion. She stands on a corpse and holds a freshly cut head and a plate to collect the dripping blood. She is worshipped by warriors, tantrics – the followers ofTantra.

Other forms

Other forms of Kali popularly worshipped in Bengal include Raksha Kali (form of Kali worshipped for protection against epidemics and drought), Bhadra Kali and Guhya Kali. Kali is said to have 8, 12, or 21 different forms according to different traditions. The popular forms are Adya Kali, Chintamani Kali, Sparshamani Kali, Santati Kali,Siddhi Kali,Dakshina Kali,Rakta Kali,Bhadra Kali, Smashana Kali, Adharvana Bhadra Kali, Kamakala Kali, Guhya Kali, Hamsa Kali, Shyama Kali, and Kalasankarshini Kali.

Symbolism

Interpretations of the symbolic meanings of Kali's appearance vary depending on Tantric or devotional approach, and on whether one views her image in a symbolic, allegorical or mystical fashion.

Physical form

In Bengal and Odisha, Kali's extended tongue is widely seen as expressing embarrassment over the realization that her foot is on her husband's chest.Pictured is the idol of Kali at theDakshineshwar Kali Temple.

There are many varied depictions of the different forms of Kali. The most common form shows her with four arms and hands, showing aspects of both creation and destruction. The two right hands are often held out in blessing, one in a mudra saying "fear not" (abhayamudra), the other conferring boons. Her left hands hold a severed head and blood-covered sword. The sword severs the bondage of ignorance and ego (tamas), represented by the severed head. One interpretation of Kali's tongue is that the red tongue symbolizes therajasicnature being conquered by the white (symbolizingsattvic) nature of the teeth. Her blackness represents that she isnirguna,beyond all qualities of nature, and transcendent.Kali's lolling tongue is interpreted as her being angry, enraged; while many in India interpret it as "biting the tongue" in shame.

The most widespread interpretation of Kali's extended tongue involve her embarrassment over the sudden realization that she has stepped on her husband's chest. Kali's sudden "modesty and shame" over that act is the prevalent interpretation amongOdia Hindus.The biting of the tongue conveys the emotion oflajjaor modesty, an expression that is widely accepted as the emotion being expressed by Kali.In Bengal also, Kali's protruding tongue is "widely accepted... as a sign of speechless embarrassment: a gesture very common among Bengalis."

The twin earrings of Kali are small embryos. This is because Kali likes devotees who have childlike qualities in them.The forehead of Kali is seen to be as luminous as the full moon and eternally giving out ambrosia.

Kali is often shown standing with her right foot on Shiva's chest. This represents an episode where Kali was out of control on the battlefield, such that she was about to destroy the entire universe. Shiva pacified her by laying down under her foot to pacify and calm her. Shiva is sometimes shown with a blissful smile on his face.She is typically shown with a garland of severed heads, often numbering fifty. This can symbolize the letters of the Sanskrit Alpha bet and therefore as the primordial sound ofAumfrom which all creation proceeds. The severed arms which make up her skirt represent her devotee's karma that she has taken on.

Mother Nature

The name Kali meansKalaor force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, or the earth, there was only darkness, and everything was created from the darkness. The dark appearance of Kali represents the darkness from which everything was born.Her complexion is black. As she is also the goddess of preservation, Kali is worshipped as the preserver ofnature.Kali is standing calm onShiva,her appearance representing the preservation of mother nature.Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom fromcivilization.Under the third eye of Kali, the signs of both sun, moon, and fire are visible, representing the driving forces of nature.Kali is not always thought of as a Dark Goddess.Despite Kali's origins in battle, she evolved to a full-fledged symbol of Mother Nature in her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects.

There are several interpretations of the symbolism behind the commonly represented image of Kali standing on Shiva's supine form. A common interpretation is that Shiva symbolizespurusha,the universal unchanging aspect of reality, or pure consciousness. Kali representsPrakriti,nature or matter, sometimes seen as having a feminine quality of creation of life. The merging of these two qualities represent ultimate reality.

A tantric interpretation sees Shiva as consciousness and Kali as power or energy. Consciousness and energy are dependent upon each other, since Shiva depends on Shakti, or energy, in order to fulfill his role in creation, preservation, and destruction. In this view, without Shakti, Shiva is a corpse—unable to act.

Worship

Mantras

Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is primarily worshipped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali orBhadrakali(Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshipped as one of the 10Mahavidyaforms of Adi Parashakti. One mantra for worship to Kali is:

सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥
ॐ जयंती मंगला काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा क्षमा शिवा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तु‍ते ॥

Sarvamangal-māngalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē. Śaraṇyē tryambakē Gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.
Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī. Durgā kṣamā śivā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stu‍tē.
ॐ काली काली महाकाली कालिके परमेश्वरी । सर्वानन्दकरी देवी नारायणि नमोऽस्तुते ।।

In fact, chanting of Mahishasura Mardhini is a daily ritual in all Hindu Bengali homes especially during Navratri / Durga Pujo as it is called.

The chant of the first chapter of Durga Saptashati is considered a very important hymn to Sri Mahakali as Devi Mahatmyam / Durga Saptashati dates back to the Upanishadic Era of Indological literature.

Tantra

KaliYantra

Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice ofTantraYoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. AlthoughParvatiis often said to be the recipient and student ofShiva's wisdom in the form ofTantras,it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.In many sources Kāli is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. TheNirvana-tantrasays the godsBrahma,Vishnu,and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. TheNiruttara-tantraand thePicchila-tantradeclare all of Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and theYogini-tantra,Kamakhya-tantraand theNiruttara-tantraall proclaim Kālividyas(manifestations ofMahadevi,or "divinity itself" ). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of theMahadevi.

In theMahanirvana-tantra,Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordialṥakti,and in one passage Shiva praises her:

At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because of Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming after Dissolution Thine own form, dark and formless, Thou alone remainest as One ineffable and inconceivable. Though having a form, yet art Thou formless; though Thyself without beginning, multiform by the power of Maya, Thou art the Beginning of all, Creatrix, Protectress, and Destructress that Thou art.

The figure of Kāli conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In thePancatattvaritual, thesadhakaboldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation.This is clear in the work of theKarpuradi-stotra,short praise of Kāli describing thePancatattvaritual unto her, performed oncremation grounds.(Samahana-sadhana);

He, O Mahākāli who in the cremation-ground, who wear skull garland and skirt of bones and with dishevelled hair, intently meditates upon Thee and recites Thy mantra, and with each recitation makes offering to Thee of a thousand Akanda flowers with seed, becomes without any effort a Lord of the earth. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.

TheKarpuradi-stotra,dated to approximately 10th century CE,clearly indicates that Kāli is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who servesDurgaorShiva.Here, she is identified as the supreme mother of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, she creates and destroys worlds. Her appearance also takes a different turn, befitting her role as ruler of the world and object of meditation.In contrast to her terrible aspects, she takes on hints of a more benign dimension. She is described as young and beautiful, has a gentle smile, and makes gestures with her two right hands to dispel any fear and offer boons. The more positive features exposed offer the distillation of divine wrath into a goddess of salvation, who rids thesadhakaof fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.

In Bengali tradition

Statue of Kali trampling onShiva,worshipped inBengal.

Idol of goddess Kali kept near Nimtala ghat for Visarjan or Immersion in the waters of river Hooghly

Kali is a central figure in late medievalBengaldevotional literature, with such notable devotee poets asKamalakanta Bhattacharya(1769–1821),Ramprasad Sen(1718–1775). With the exception of being associated withParvatiasShiva's consort, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.

The Tantric approach to Kāli is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee adopts the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. In both cases, the goal of the devotee is to become reconciled with death and to learn acceptance of the way that things are. These themes are addressed in Rāmprasād's work.Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli is indifferent to his wellbeing, causes him to suffer, brings his worldly desires to nothing and his worldly goods to ruin. He also states that she does not behave like a mother should and that she ignores his pleas:

Can mercy be found in the heart of her who was born of the stone? [a reference to Kali as the daughter of Himalaya]
Were she not merciless, would she kick the breast of her lord?
Men call you merciful, but there is no trace of mercy in you, Mother.
You have cut off the heads of the children of others, and these you wear as a garland around your neck.
It matters not how much I call you "Mother, Mother." You hear me, but you will not listen.

To be a child of Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which is expected. To the devotee, it is perhaps her very refusal to do so that enables her devotees to reflect on dimensions of themselves and of reality that go beyond the material world.

A significant portion of Bengali devotional music features Kāli as its central theme and is known asShyama Sangeet( "Music of the Night" ). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today women have taken to this form of music.

Kāli is especially venerated in the festival ofKali Pujain eastern India – celebrated when the new moon day ofAshwinmonth coincides with the festival ofDiwali.The practice of animal sacrifice is still practiced during Kali Puja in Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, though it is rare outside of those areas. TheHindu templeswhere this takes place involves the ritual slaying of goats, chickens and sometimes male water buffalos. Throughout India, the practice is becoming less common.The rituals in eastern India temples where animals are killed are generally led byBrahminpriests.A number ofTantricPuranasspecify the ritual for how the animal should be killed. A Brahmin priest will recite a mantra in the ear of the animal to be sacrificed, in order to free the animal from the cycle of life and death. Groups such as People for Animals continue to protest animal sacrifice based on court rulings forbidding the practice in some locations.

In Tantric Buddhism

Tröma Nagm in Tibetan Buddhism, shares some attributes of Kali.

Tantric Kali cults such as the Kaula and Krama had a strong influence onTantric Buddhism,as can be seen in fierce-lookingyoginisanddakinissuch asVajrayoginiand Krodikali.

In Tibet, Krodikali (alt. Krodhakali, Kālikā, Krodheśvarī, Krishna Krodhini) is known asTröma Nagmo(Classical Tibetan:ཁྲོ་མ་ནག་མོ་,Wylie:khro ma nag mo,English: "The Black Wrathful Lady" ).She features as a key deity in the practice tradition ofChödfounded byMachig Labdronand is seen as a fierce form ofVajrayogini.Other similar fierce deities include the dark blue Ugra Tara and the lion-facedSimhamukha.

In Sinhala Buddhism

Statue at thePathirakali Amman Templeof a guardian with a very similar appearance to Kali

In Sri Lanka, Kali is venerated and called upon by Buddhists and Hindus. She is a type of mother goddess, sometimes invoked to fight disease,and a maid of the GoddessPattini.In Sinhala Buddhism, her origin is explained through her arriving at Munneśvaram from South India, eating humans, and attempting to eat Pattini, who instead tames her.

She is regarded as having seven forms; Bhadrakāli (who is associated with business and gold trade, and prominently worshipped at the Tamil HinduMunneśvaramtemple, though over 80% of its patrons are Sinhala Buddhists. Bhadrakāli priests here interpret her tongue as symbolizing revenge, rather than embarrassment, and she tramples the demon of ignorance), Mahābhadrakāli, Pēnakāli, Vandurukāli (Hanumāpatrakāli), Rīrikāli, Sohonkāli, and Ginikāli.These forms are subordinate to Kāliammā (the mother of Kāli). Red flowers, silver coins, blood, and oil lamps with mustard oil are offered to her, and as Pattini's servant, she accepts offerings on her behalf.Sohonkāli is the form venerated in one of her most popular temples, the Mōdara Kāli temple inColombo.

Her worship in Sri Lanka dates back to at least the 9th century CE, andDharmasena Theracreated theSadharma Ratnavaliyain the 13th century based on an older 5th century work, which actively recontextualizes Kali in a Buddhist context,exploring the nature of violence and vengeance and how they trap people in cycles until justification, guilt, and good and evil become irrelevant.Kali has been seen as both a demon (though a tamed one, thanks to Pattini) and a goddess in Sri Lanka.She and mythical Sinhala Buddhist kings both use demonic fury as a necessary condition of conquest.

Yantras are used in relation to her, sourced from thePali Canon,later Buddhistparittachants, and from non-Buddhist yantras and mantras. The Sādhakayantra is popular, and its corresponding mantra includes Arabic words and Islamic concepts.

Worship in the Western world

Theorized early worship

A form of Kali worship may have already been transmitted to the west in Medieval times by the wanderingRomani.A few authors have drawn parallels between Kali worship and the ceremonies of the annual pilgrimage in honor ofSaint Sarah,also known asSara-la-Kali( "Sara the Black",Romani:Sara e Kali), held atSaintes-Maries-de-la-Mer,a place ofpilgrimagefor Roma in theCamargue,in southernFrance.Ronald Lee(2001) states:

If we compare the ceremonies with those performed in France at the shrine of Sainte Sara (calledSara e Kaliin Romani), we become aware that the worship of Kali/Durga/Sara has been transferred to a Christian figure... in France, to anon-existent "sainte"called Sara, who is actually part of the Kali/Durga/Sara worship among certain groups in India.

In modern times

An academic study of modern-day western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."Rachel Fell McDermott, Professor of Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures atColumbia Universityand author of several books on Kali, has noted the evolving views in the West regarding Kali and her worship. In 1998 McDermott wrote that:

A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably,feministsand participants inNew Agespirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition... It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.

By 2003, she amended her previous view.

... crosscultural borrowingisappropriate and a natural by-product of religious globalization—although such borrowing ought to be done responsibly and self-consciously. If some Kali enthusiasts, therefore, careen ahead, reveling in a goddess of power and sex, many others, particularly since the early 1990s, have decided to reconsider their theological trajectories. These [followers], whether of South Asian descent or not, are endeavoring to rein in what they perceive as excesses of feminist and New Age interpretations of the Goddess by choosing to be informed by, moved by, an Indian view of her character.

In Réunion

InRéunion,an island territory of France in the Indian Ocean, veneration for SaintExpeditus(French:Saint Expédit) is very popular. TheMalbarshave Tamil ancestry but are, at least nominally, Catholics. The saint is identified with Kali.

Comparative scholarship

Scholar Marvin H. Pope in 1965 argues that theHindugoddess Kali, who is first attested in the 7th century CE, shares some characteristics with some ancient Near Eastern goddesses, such as wearing a necklace of heads and a belt of severed hands likeAnat,and drinking blood like the Egyptian goddessSekhmetand that therefore that her character might have been influenced by them.

Levantine Anat

The Bronze Age epic cycles of theLevantinecity ofUgaritinclude a myth according to which the warrior goddessAnatstarted attacking warriors, with the text of the myth describing the goddess as gloating and her heart filling with joy and her liver with laughter while attaching the heads of warriors to her back and girding hands to her waistuntil she is pacified by a message of peace sent by her brother and consort, the godBaʿlu.

The Hindu goddess Kālī similarly wore a necklace of severed heads and a girdle of severed hands, and was pacified by her consort, Śiva, throwing himself under her feet. The sickle sword wielded by Kālī might also have been connected to similar sickle swords used inearly dynasticMesopotamia.

Egyptian Sekhmet

According to anAncient Egyptianmyth, calledThe Deliverance of Mankind from Destruction,the ancient Egyptian supreme god, the Sun-godRa,suspected that mankind was plotting against him, and so he sent the goddessHathor,who was the incarnation of his violent feminine aspect, theEye of Ra,to destroy his enemies.

Furthermore, Hathor appeared as the lion-goddessSekhmetand carried out Ra's orders until she became so captured by her blood-lust that she would not stop despite Ra himself becoming distressed and wishing an end to the killing. Therefore, Ra concocted a ruse whereby a plain was flooded with beer which had been dyed red, which Sekhmet mistook for blood and drank until she became too inebriated to continue killing, thus saving humanity from destruction.

Similarly, while killing demons, Kālī became ecstatic with the joy of battle and slaughter and refused to stop, so that theDevasfeared she would destroy the world, and she was stopped through ruse when her consort Śiva threw himself under her feet.

In popular culture

The Rolling Stones' logo,based on the out stuck tongue of Kali

See also:Thuggee § In popular culture

Gunga Din,a 1939 Americanadventure filmfromRKO Radio Picturesdirected byGeorge Stevensand starringCary Grant,Victor McLaglen,andDouglas Fairbanks Jr.,features a resurgent sect of Thuggees as worshippers of Kali who are at war with the British Raj.

In theBeatles' 1965 filmHelp!,Ringo Starris pursued by Kali worshippers intending to sacrifice him.

Thetongue and lips logoof the bandThe Rolling Stones,created in 1971, was inspired by the stuck-out tongue of Kali.

A version of Kali is on the cover of the first issue of feminist magazineMs.,published in 1972. Here, Kali's many arms symbolize the many tasks of the contemporary American woman.

AThuggeecult of Kali worshippers are villains inIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984), an action-adventure film which takes place in 1935.

Mahakali — Anth Hi Aarambh Hai(2017) is an Indian television series in whichParvati(Mahakali), Shiva's consort, assumes varied forms to destroy evil and protect the innocent.

Further reading

• Bowker, John (2000).Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions.Oxford Press.
• Bunce, Frederick W. (1997).A Dictionary of Buddhist and Hindu Iconography (Illustrated).D.K. Print World.
• Craven, Roy C. (1997).Indian Art (revised).Thames & Hudson.
• Doniger, Wendy(2015).Encyclopædia Britannica Online, Kali.Encyclopædia Britannica.
• Harshananda, Swami (1981).Hindu Gods & Goddesses.Ramakrishna Math.
• Mishra, T. N. (1997).Impact of Tantra on Religion and Art.D.K. Print World.
• Santideva, Sadhu (2000).Ascetic Mysticism.Cosmo Publications.
• Loriliai Biernacki,Renowned Goddess of Desire: Women, Sex, and Speech in TantraOxford Scholarship Online: September 2007,doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195327823.001.0001,ISBN978-0195327823
• Pope, Marvin H.;Röllig, Wolfgang[in German](1965). "Syrien: Die Mythologie der Ugariter und Phönizier" [Syria: The Mythology of the Ugarites and Phoenicians]. InHaussig, Hans Wilhelm[in German](ed.).Götter und Mythen im Vorderen Orient[Gods and Myths in the Middle East] (in German).Stuttgart,Germany:Ernst Klett Verlag.pp. 217–312.
• Pope, Marvin H. (1977).Song of Songs.The Anchor Bible.Vol. 7C.New York City,United States:Doubleday.ISBN978-0-385-00569-2.
• Shanmukha Anantha Natha and Shri Ma Kristina Baird,Divine InitiationShri Kali Publications (2001)ISBN0-9582324-0-7– Has a chapter on Mahadevi with a commentary on theDevi Mahatmyamfrom the Markandeya Purana.
• Ajit Mookerjee,Kali: The Feminine ForceISBN0-89281-212-5
• Swami Satyananda Saraswati,Kali PujaISBN1-887472-64-9
• Ramprasad Sen,Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Selected Poems to the Mother GoddessISBN0-934252-94-7
• Sir John Woodroffe(a.k.a. Arthur Avalon)Hymns to the Goddess and Hymn to KaliISBN81-85988-16-1
• Robert E. Svoboda,Aghora, at the left hand of GodISBN0-914732-21-8
• Dimitri Kitsikis,L'Orocc, dans l'âge de KaliISBN2-89040-359-9
• Lex Hixon,Mother of the Universe: Visions of the Goddess and Tantric Hymns of EnlightenmentISBN0-8356-0702-X
• Neela Bhattacharya Saxena,In the Beginning is Desire: Tracing Kali's Footprints in Indian LiteratureISBN81-87981-61-X
• The Goddess Kali of Kolkata(ISBN81-7476-514-X) by Shoma A. Chatterji
• Dictionary of Hindu Lore and Legend(ISBN0-500-51088-1) by Anna Dallapiccola
• In Praise of The Goddess: The Devimahatmyam and Its Meaning(ISBN0-89254-080-X) by Devadatta Kali
• Seeking Mahadevi: Constructing the Identities of the Hindu Great Goddess(ISBN0-791-45008-2) Edited by Tracy Pintchman
• The Rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition(ISBN0-7914-2112-0) by Tracy Pintchman
• Narasimhananda, Swami, Prabuddha Bharata, January 2016, The Phalaharini Kali.

External links

• Kaliat theEncyclopædia Britannica