Unique Attributes : Ferociousness, destroyer,
angry, compassionate and motherly
Other Names : Rudrani, Bhadrakali, Aadya, Chamunda, Kamakshi
Consort : Shiva
Primary Scriptures : Mundaka Upanishad, Markandeya Purana,
Matsya Purana, Kalika Purana
Mula Mantra : Om Kreem Kalikaye Namah
The goddess Kali incarnated from the supreme divine Devi Shakti to put
an end to the fright of demon brothers Shumbh Nishumbh. The name of
Goddess Kali is derived from the Sanskrit term Kal meaning time. Ma Kali
is a symbol of female dynamism in keeping with her strong
characteristics. Some great religious scholars and philosophers have
questioned the fact that the powerful goddess is a deity of death. They
instead suggest that she is the goddess of death in the sense of killing
the ego of a human being and hence playing a principal role in removing
his vices.
Ma Kali is also believed to be responsible for making one detached from
the materialistic world and hence resulting in removing the fear of
death from the person's mind. The goddess makes the human beings realize
that ultimately man is mortal and has to leave his bodily form. The
goddess Kali is sometimes represented as dark blue the color of the
stormy weather sky thus signifying her limitless form. The Goddess is
usually depicted in her four arm form and in her ferocious Mahakali form
she is shown as having ten arms holding weapons she received from all
the gods. The goddess while killing the demons is shown with disheveled
hair, her tongue sticking out with rage while her neck is adorned by a
necklace made of demon heads.
Kaali Mata is revered deeply across all parts of India. People yearning
to go to a different spiritual plane religiously pay obeisance to the
goddess and meditate taking her name. Her motherly and compassionate
form comes to the fore when Lord Shiva goes to the battlefield as a
wailing infant, to pacify the goddess who is full of rage after killing
the demons. The goddess on noticing the newborn, turns to him to stop
him from crying and further breastfeeds him. The followers of Goddess
Kali thus revere her as a mother and the goddess without any selfish
interests grants boon to her children.
The shrines goddess kali are multiplying in the country day by day. She
is especially worshipped to in the state of West Bengal. Dakshineshwar
and Kalighat in Kolkatta are perhaps the most popular shrines of goddess
Kali where devotees across the country pour in large numbers throughout
the year. For the Bengalis goddess Kali is the supreme being and hence a
visit to the Kalibadi - where the goddess's idol is kept is mandatory.
Here the Ma Kali is not seen as the destroyer but as one who is the
granter of blessings and looks after the interests of her believers.