Kali
How is Kali commonly depicted?
Who is Kali’s husband?
Are Kali and Durga the same?
What is the relation between Kali the goddess and the Kali Yuga era?
Kali, in Hinduism, goddess of time, doomsday, and death, or the black goddess (the feminine form of Sanskrit kala, “time-doomsday-death” or “black”). Kali’s iconography, cult, and mythology commonly associate her not only with death but also with disorder, sexuality, violence, and, paradoxically, in some later traditions, with motherly love. She is often depicted in a black or blue color, having multiple arms, and sticking out her long tongue; she commonly wears a skirt of human arms and a necklace of heads while grasping a decapitated head. Kali is worshipped throughout India and beyond, but devotion to her is particularly strong in West Bengal, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala. Her mythology is recounted especially in the Devi Mahatmya (c. 600 ce) as well as other Sanskrit texts. The Kali Puja festival, observed in West Bengal and neighboring states, coincides with the celebration of Diwali.
History and development
Kali’s origins can be traced to the deities of the village, tribal, and mountain cultures of South Asia who were gradually appropriated and transformed, if never quite tamed, by the Sanskritic traditions. Her origins can also be traced to descriptions of dark deities found in ancient Vedic Sanskrit texts (c. 1500–500 bce), such as the goddess Ratri (“Night”) and an ancient deity named Nirriti or Nirrti (from the Sanskrit nir, meaning “without,” and rta meaning “cosmic order”), feared as a destructive force and described as dark and unkempt. Another precursor of Kali is the ogress Dirgha-jihvi (“Long Tongue”), who licks up oblations in the ancient Vedic Sanskrit texts known as the Brahmanas. In the Mundaka Upanishad Kali is described as one of seven tongues of the yajna (“sacrificial fire”).
She first appears in passing as a goddess deserving worship in the Kathaka Grihya Sutra, specifically in the context of the marriage ceremony. In the Mahabharata (finalized c. 400 ce, but drawing on earlier material), Kali appears briefly in the 10th book (Sauptika Parva) when Ashvatthama comes to the Pandava camp in a murderous rage. Amidst the carnage she is visible as an old lady with a black complexion, her mouth and eyes covered in blood, wearing red garlands and holding a noose.
It is in the Puranas (c. 400–1500 ce) that Kali shifts from a being most closely associated with death to a goddess whose ferocity defeats demons and who has the capacity to grant favors to her devotees. Still marginal and associated with cremation grounds, she nevertheless is depicted in these later texts to have great power to assist gods and humans alike. In some Puranas she is a goddess who participates in military campaigns and can help exact revenge, and in others she is a noted slayer of demons (asuras, the enemies of the gods, or devas). She is also said to be able to grant the birth of sons to her worshippers. She makes her first major appearance in Sanskrit culture in the Devi Mahatmya (c. 6th century ce; “The Glorifications of the Goddess”), which is a part of the Markandeya Purana. The Devi Mahatmya tells the myths typically associated with Kali in Hindu practice, and it identifies her as one ferocious form of the great Goddess (Devi), an amalgamation of many Hindu goddesses into one multifaceted and supreme divine feminine.
Mythology and forms
The Devi Mahatmya tells of Kali springing from the anger of the goddess Durga to slay the demon Raktabija (“Blood-Seed”). During the struggle a new demon emerges from each drop of Raktabija’s blood as it hits the ground; to prevent this, Kali laps up the blood before it can reach the ground, allowing Durga’s warrior form, Chandi, to destroy Raktabija. However, Kali’s rampage does not end with the victory, and she begins to dance with such a fury that cosmic annihilation seems imminent. To stop her, Shiva prostrates himself in her path, causing her to step on him.
In another story of Kali’s mettle in battle against demons in the Devi Mahatmya, Kali emerges from Durga’s forehead to defeat the asuras Chanda and Munda, for which she gains the name Chamunda. She also defeats the demons Shumbha and Nishumbha in the form of Chandi (also called Chandika). According to the Vamana Purana Kali is also said to have been born when the goddess Parvati, offended that Shiva mentioned her dark complexion, undertakes ascetic austerities to shed her dark skin; the sheath became Kali—via an intermediary form called Kaushika or Kaushiki (“the Sheath”)—leaving Parvati in the form of Gauri (“the Fair One”).
Kali is associated with various forms, among them Mahakali (maha meaning “great,” the all-encompassing form), Bhadrakali (bhadra meaning “auspicious,” a fierce but protective form), Smashan Kali (smashan meaning “crematorium,” an unbridled and fearsome form), and Dakshina Kali (a benevolent form worshipped in households). She is also sometimes identified with similar goddesses such as Bhairavi (the consort of Bhairava, a form of Shiva), Kalaratri (the seventh and most ferocious form of the Navadurga, a collective name for the nine avatars of Durga), the Tantric goddess Tara, and Chinnamastika (or Chinnamasta; “She of the Severed Head”).
Iconography
Although depicted in many forms throughout South Asia (and now much of the world), Kali is most often characterized as black or blue, partially or completely naked, with a long lolling tongue, multiple arms, a skirt or girdle of human arms, a necklace of decapitated heads, and a decapitated head in one of her hands. Unlike other deities her vahana or mount is not an animal; instead, she rides a preta (“ghost”). She is often portrayed standing or dancing on her husband, the god Shiva, who lies prostrate beneath her. Many of those portrayals depict her sticking out her tongue—Kali’s outstretched tongue is often interpreted as an expression of shame or embarrassment, a reaction to the act of stepping on her husband.
Worship and symbolism
Worshipped throughout India but particularly in the northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir, the southernmost state of Kerala, and the eastern states of West Bengal and Assam, Kali is both geographically and culturally marginal. Although she is peripheral in mainstream Hindu worship, shrines to her, such as at Kalighat and Dakshineswar in West Bengal, and the Maa Kamakhya Temple (in which Kali is worshipped as one of 10 mahavidyas, or forms of the supreme goddess Shakti) in Assam, are counted among the most important religious sites in India. Kali Puja, a festival dedicated to the goddess and celebrated particularly in West Bengal and other eastern states, coincides with the Hindu festival of Diwali.
Kali has had many notable devotees over the centuries. A legend associated with the 5th-century Sanskrit dramatist Kalidasa (his name is literally “servant of Kali”) holds that he was granted knowledge and poetic ability by the goddess. The 19th-century Hindu mystic Ramakrishna, who served as a priest of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, was noted for his devotion to Kali, whom he regarded as the supreme manifestation of God. In music, too, Kali has inspired Shyama sangeet (Shyama, meaning “black,” is another name for Kali; sangeet meaning “music”), which are devotional songs extolling the goddess that form a distinct genre in Bengali music.
- Sanskrit:
- “She Who Is Black” or “She Who Is Death”
Kali has often been the center of cult worship and was believed to have been the patron deity of the thugs or thuggees, members of a militant fraternity who were widely regarded as robbers and assassins and were particularly active in the 19th century. Modern scholars have theorized that the thugs were an imperialist invention or exaggeration to justify the British colonization of India. Over time Kali has come to symbolize rebellion and empowerment because of her subversive nature and disruptive habits. In colonial India she was adopted as an emblem of resistance by young revolutionaries in Bengal. Since the late 20th century, feminist scholars and writers have seen Kali as a symbol of feminine empowerment, while members of New Age movements have found theologically and sexually liberating inspiration in her more violent sexual manifestations.