Goddesses
of India ~ K
Kali
The goddess in the aspect of Liberator. Unlike much Western mythology,
Hinduism has always recognized the feminine principle, most prominently
in the form of Kali, the consort to Shiva or Shiva-Shakti. The male
power, inert, is useless without this energizing female power, conceived
of in its benign form as Parvati, and in its fierce or destructive form
as Kali. In this terrifying aspect, the goddess drips blood from her
devouring mouth, and her huge sword has beheaded the demon Ignorance,
while her other two hands signify the blessing implied by this penultimate
spiritual deed. The Ancient Goddess, in her warrior aspect of Inanna,
Medusa or Athena, served a similar psycho-spiritual function in western
cultures.
She is the Mother who purges us of fear, anger, jealousy and grief,
then nurses us back to balance in the ultimate act of soul-healing.
Beneath her frightening appearance lies the truth that life, though
sometimes fraught with suffering, is rooted in joy. "The whole
universe is created by Kali," says the Shiva Purana. Her luxuriantly
flowing hair and outstretched arms reveal her power over Time, while
quiet-gazing Shiva supports her. Kali's garland of demon heads represents
both her detachment from the world and her inner nature of deep compassion.
Her fierce wisdom slays ignorance, giving bloom to flowers of hope and
healing.
Kubler-Ross and other psychotherapists (especially the practitioners
of Gestalt therapy and Re-evaluation Counseling) insist on our need
to ventilate, externalize, or discharge these feeling, either through
tears, rageful yelling, or symbolic destroying. Kali of the fearsome
form is the patroness of such healing.
Kali emanates from the warrior goddess Durga in times of peril, and
like a bloodthirsty whirlwind slays the demons of ignorance which conflict
the human mind. In her greatest of such archetypal battles, Lord Shiva
had to throw himself at her feet to halt her. Dancing upon his body,
she calmed and brought the universe back to life, as symbolized by Shiva's
enigmatic smile.
Her dance of destruction is ultimately the destruction of evil, and
seekers who throw themselves at her feet are reborn out of pain into
vitality, spontaneity, and appreciation of the full joy and beauty of
existence. Hindus recognize that beneath her frightening appearance
is the truth that life, though fraught with suffering and terminated
in death, is ultimately rooted in joy.
All ancient traditions created archetypes of this wisdom. The Greek
Medusa, the medieval Hecate, the Yoruban Oya, the Celtic Morrigan, the
Norse Valkyerie, and the Mayan Ixchel each tell us that to realize this
joy, suffering and death must be faced. Only by conquering them through
recognizing them as portals of rebirth, thereby reconciling them with
ones hopes and expectations, can peace and joy be found.
Kali is usually pictured as a black goddess, for time has no color.
The string of arms around her waist represent the lives that are born
again and again in the cycle of reincarnation or samsara. She holds
a cup in which she has caught the blood of the head she has just decapitated.
But Kali's raised right hand is in the mudra "Be not afraid."
She is dancing on her consort, Lord Shiva. One interpretation of this
image is that after the goddess slew the buffalo demon, she got drunk
on its blood and started to destroy indiscriminately and with wild abandon.
(Remember, the problem is not power, but how to keep power under control.)
In an effort to calm her, Shiva lay down and let her dance on him, bringing
an end to her rampage.
Kali is represented with four arms; in one hand she has a sword, in
another the head of the demon she has slain, with the other two she
is encouraging her worshippers. For earrings she has two dead bodies
and wears a necklace of skulls ; her only clothing is a girdle made
of dead men's hands, and her tongue protrudes from her mouth. Her eyes
are red, and her face and breasts are besmeared with blood. She stands
with one foot on the thigh, and another on the breast of her husband.
Black Earth Mother, Conqueror of Time, Goddess of fertility, death and
regeneration. Dark Mother, Hindu triple Goddess of creation, preservation
and destruction. Birth and Death Mother. Treasure house of Compassion,
Giver of Life to the World. Her mantras brought into being the very
things whose names She spoke for the first time, Originator of the creative
word or Logos. A triple Goddess - Maiden, Mother, Crone. Lady of the
Dead. The Ocean of Blood at the beginning and end of the world. Also
known as Jagadamba.
Kali's fierce appearances have been the subject of extensive descriptions
in several earlier and modern works. Though her fierce form is filled
with awe- inspiring symbols, their real meaning is not what it first
appears- they have equivocal significance:
Kali's blackness symbolizes her all-embracing, comprehensive nature,
because black is the color in which all other colors merge; black absorbs
and dissolves them. 'Just as all colors disappear in black, so all names
and forms disappear in her' (Mahanirvana Tantra). Or black is said to
represent the total absence of color, again signifying the nature of
Kali as ultimate reality. This in Sanskrit is named as nirguna (beyond
all quality and form). Either way, Kali's black color symbolizes her
transcendence of all form. She is also known as Kalikamata ("black
earth-mother") and Kalaratri ("black night"). Among the
Tamils she is known as Kottavei. Kali is worshipped particularly in
Bengal. Her best known temples are in Kalighat and Dakshineshvara.
Krtya
Hindu Goddess of witchcraft.
Kubjika
Hindu goddess of pottery.