Kali is a Hindu goddess. She is sometimes considered to be a strong mother-like figure and some say she symbolizes motherly-love. But she is more commonly known as the goddess of death and time. She is often associated with violence and sexuality.
She is the reincarnation of Shiva’s wife, Parvati. The goddess also embodies Shakti, the Hindu word for feminine energy, fertility, and creativity.
The name Kali is derived from Sanskrit. It means “she who is black” or “she who is death”. She does have several other names, including Kaushika, Chaturbhuja Kali, and Chinnamasta. She is appealing to both gods and mortals. As an embodiment of time, Kali devours all things. She is traditionally worshipped throughout India but especially in South India, Kashmir, Assam, and Bengal. She is one of the most widely recognized Hindu goddesses today and one of the few to whom blood sacrifices are still made.
Kali is one of the most well-known Hindu goddesses, mostly because of her immense power and responsibility. Here are two myths that show just how powerful the deity is.
There are a few different versions that tell how Kali came to be. The first version involves Durga, the warrior goddess with ten arms, each carrying a type of weapon. She rode a lion into battle and fought with the buffalo demon, Mahishasure. Durga’s fury grew and from her anger, Kali formed. Kali immediately ate any and all demons around her and decapitated their heads, threading them on a chain to wear around her neck. No one was able to stop kali’s attacks. One day, Shiva lied down on a path to stop kali. She immediately calmed down once she realized who she was standing on.
Another version says that Kali appeared when Parvati, Shiva’s wife, shed her skin. Her skin transformed into Kali and explains why her skin is so dark. The dark color of her skin is symbolic of eternal darkness associated with destruction.
The final version says that Daruka was terrorizing both mortals and gods. He could only be killed by a woman. Parvati was asked by the gods to handle the demon. She jumped down Shiva’s throat to retrieve a poison he had swallowed years before. When she met the poison, she transformed into Kali. She jumped out of Shiva’s throat and quickly eliminated Daruka.
There is another tale regarding Kali’s origins. There was a terrible demon named Raktabija. He was terrorizing both the mortals and gods. To make matters worse, whenever a drop of his blood would hit the ground, a new demon would appear. So whenever someone would try and attack the demon, more demons would appear. The gods decided they needed to work together and come up with a plan. They combined all of their divine energy in an effort to produce one super being that would be able to destroy the demon once and for all. The result was Kali. She quickly sought out Raktabija, along with his army of demons, and swallowed the army whole. This prevented any blood from hitting the ground. She defeated Raktabija by cutting off his head with her sword and then drinking his blood to ensure that no more demons would enter the world.
Appearance
In artistic representations, Kali is usually portrayed with either black or blue skin. She is usually naked except for a painted clay crown. She has multiple arms and the number varies. Some pictures show her with as few as four arms while others show her with up to 18. Each arm is usually holding something. These objects include a dagger, cup, chakra, whip, bell, sword, trident, drum, lotus bud, and a shield. Kali is usually shown seated with her legs crossed. She usually has eight feet.
Her poses do vary though. In some representations, she is shown slaying demons. She is sometimes standing with one foot on Shiva while holding a severed head. Her expression is terrifying and her tongue hangs out of her mouth dripping of blood. In these scenarios, she is shown wearing a skirt of severed human arms, earrings of dead children, and a necklace of decapitated heads.
