(India) Kali (काली)

China and India

 

 

english

 

Kālī (Sanskrit: काली, IPA: [kɑːliː]; Bengali: কালী; Tamil: காளி); Telugu: కాళికాదేవి), also known as Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका, Bengali: কালিকা), is the Hindu goddess associated with eternal energy. "She who destroys".The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "the Time" or "Death" (as in time has come). Hence, Kali is considered the goddess of time and change. Although sometimes presented as dark and violent, her earliest incarnation as a figure of annihilation still has some influence. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shakta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatarini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Comparatively recent devotional movements largely conceive Kali as a benevolent mother goddess.

 

Kali is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing. She is associated with many other Hindu goddesses like Durga, Bhadrakali, Sati, Rudrani, Parvati and Chamunda. She is the foremost among the Dasa Mahavidyas, ten fierce Tantric goddesses.

 

Etymology

 

Kālī is the feminine of kāla ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "black," but also means "time." Kālī means "the black one" and also "time" or "beyond time." Kali is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive her feminine name from the masculine Kāla (an epithet of Shiva). The nineteenth century Sanskrit dictionary, the Shabdakalpadrum, states: कालः शिवः । तस्य पत्नीति - काली । kālaḥ śivaḥ । tasya patnīti kālī - "Shiva is Kala, thus his wife is Kali."

Other names include Kālarātri ("black night"), as described above, and Kālikā ("relating to time"). Coburn notes that the name Kālī can be used as a proper name, or as a description of color.

Kali's association with blackness stands in contrast to her consort, Shiva, whose body is covered by the white ashes of the cremation ground (Sanskrit: śmaśāna) in which he meditates, and with which Kali is also associated, as śmaśāna-kālī.

Kālī is frequently confused with the word kali, as in Kali Yuga or the demon Kali. However, the words Kālī ("black, time") and kali ("weak, crude, inarticulate") are etymologically unrelated, and the goddess Kālī is not associated with Kali Yuga in Hinduism.

 

Origins

 

Hugh Urban notes that although the word Kālī appears as early as the Atharva Veda, the first use of it as a proper name is in the Kathaka Grhya Sutra (19.7). Kali is the name of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the Rigvedic God of Fire, in the Mundaka Upanishad (2:4), but it is unlikely that this refers to the goddess. The first appearance of Kali in her present form is in the Sauptika Parvan of the Mahabharata (10.8.64). She is called Kālarātri (literally, "black night") and appears to the Pandava soldiers in dreams, until finally she appears amidst the fighting during an attack by Drona's son Ashwatthama. She most famously appears in the sixth century Devi Mahatmyam as one of the shaktis of Mahadevi, and defeats the demon Raktabija. The tenth century Kalika Purana venerates Kali as the ultimate reality or Brahman.

According to David Kinsley, Kali is first mentioned in Hinduism as a distinct goddess around 600 CE, and these texts "usually place her on the periphery of Hindu society or on the battlefield." She is often regarded as the Shakti of Shiva, and is closely associated with him in various Puranas. The Kalika Purana depicts her as the "Adi Shakti" (Fundamental Power) and "Para Prakriti" or beyond nature.

 

IN TANTRA

 

Goddesses play an important role in the study and practice of Tantra Yoga, and are affirmed to be as central to discerning the nature of reality as are the male deities. Although Parvati is often said to be the recipient and student of Shiva's wisdom in the form of Tantras, it is Kali who seems to dominate much of the Tantric iconography, texts, and rituals.[6] In many sources Kali is praised as the highest reality or greatest of all deities. The Nirvana-tantra says the gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all arise from her like bubbles in the sea, ceaselessly arising and passing away, leaving their original source unchanged. The Niruttara-tantra and the Picchila-tantra declare all of Kali's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kali vidyas (manifestations of Mahadevi, or "divinity itself"). They declare her to be an essence of her own form (svarupa) of the Mahadevi.

In the Mahanirvana-tantra, Kali is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:

At the dissolution of things, it is Kala [Time] Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahakala [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahakala Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kalika. Because Thou devourest Kala, Thou art Kali, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [primordial Kali]. Resuming 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 Kali conveys death, destruction, and the consuming aspects of reality. As such, she is also a "forbidden thing", or even death itself. In the Pancatattva ritual, the sadhaka boldly seeks to confront Kali, and thereby assimilates and transforms her into a vehicle of salvation. This is clear in the work of the Karpuradi-stotra,[9] a short praise to Kali describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)

He, O Mahakali who in the cremation-ground, naked, 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. 0 Kali, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Sakti [his female companion] in the cremation-ground, becomes a great poet, a Lord of the earth, and ever goes mounted upon an elephant.

The Karpuradi-stotra clearly indicates that Kali is more than a terrible, vicious, slayer of demons who serves Durga or Shiva. Here, she is identified as the supreme mistress of the universe, associated with the five elements. In union with Lord Shiva, who is said to be her spouse, 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 the sadhaka of fear. Here, Kali appears as a symbol of triumph over death.

 

in bengali tradition

 

Kali is also a central figure in late medieval Bengali devotional literature, with such devotees as Ramprasad Sen (1718–75). With the exception of being associated with Parvati as Shiva's consort, Kali is rarely pictured in Hindu mythology and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengali tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.

The Tantric approach to Kali is to display courage by confronting her on cremation grounds in the dead of night, despite her terrible appearance. In contrast, the Bengali devotee appropriates Kali's teachings, adopting the attitude of a child. 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 well addressed in Ramprasad's work.

Ramprasad comments in many of his other songs that Kali 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 Kali, Ramprasad asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kali is said to not give what 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 Kali as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet. Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyama Sangeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.

In Bengal, Kali is venerated in the festival Kali Puja - the new moon day of Ashwin month which coincides with Diwali festival.

In a unique form of Kali worship, Shantipur worships Kali in the form of a hand painted image of the deity known as Poteshwari (meaning the deity drawn on a piece of cloth).

 

português

 

Kali, do sânscrito Kālī काली (que significa, literalmente, A Negra), é uma das divindades mais "respeitadas" do Hinduísmo. Apresenta-se com aspecto terrível e a tradição inclui sacrifícios animais e antigamente humanos -- segundo observado ainda pelos colonizadores ingleses no século XIX.[carece de fontes]

 

No entanto, no paganismo ela é a verdadeira representação da natureza e é também considerada por muitas pessoas a essência de tudo o que é realidade e a fonte da existência do ser. Deusa da morte e da sexualidade, Kali - cujo nome, em sânscrito, significa "negra" - é a "esposa" do Deus Shiva, em algumas culturas, pois segundo os Vedas, pois Shiva é transformado em Kali, que seria um de seus lados, para trazer o fim, segundo o tântrismo é a divina "Mãe" ou Pai do universo, destruidora (o) de toda a maldade. É representada (o) como uma mulher exuberante, em uma parte da India em outra como Homem de pele escura, que traz um colar de crânios em volta do pescoço e uma saia de braços decepados - expressando, assim, a implacabilidade da morte.

 

A lenda conta que, numa luta entre Durga e o demônio Raktabija, este fez o desespero de Durga com um maléfico poder: cada gota do sangue se transformava em um demônio. Durga e Shiva, ao tentar matar os vários demônios que surgiam a cada gota de sangue, cortavam a cabeça (e daí nasciam mais e mais demônios). Já em desespero, surge Kali, que cortava as cabeças e lambia o sangue (daí representado pelo colar de cabeças, pela adaga e a língua de fora). Assim, dizimou os demônios-clones de Raktabija.

 

Mas Kali não é uma deusa ou deus do mal pois, na verdade, o papel de ceifadora de vidas é absolutamente indispensável para a manutenção do mundo. Os devotos são recompensados com poderes paranormais e com uma morte sem sofrimentos.

 

Kali é a destruidora (o) do demônio Raktabija. E também uma das formas da deusa Parvati, esposa de Shiva.Ou segundo alguns o próprio deus Shiva.

 

A figura da deusa tem quatro braços, pele azul, os olhos ferozmente arregalados, os cabelos revoltos, a língua pendente, os lábios tintos de hena e bétele. No pescoço traz um colar de cabeças humanas, e nos flancos uma faixa de mãos decepadas. Sempre é representada em pé sobre o corpo caído do esposo Shiva.

 

Apesar da aparência de malvada, Kali é muito mal compreendida pelas pessoas. Ela mostra o lado escuro da mulher ou do trangenero e a verdadeira força feminina. Kali é venerada na Índia como uma mãe pelos seus devotos e devotas que esperam dela uma morte sem dor ou aflitos.

 

Aparece no episódio 5.19 da série Supernatural, representada como uma deusa vingativa

 

Done