Prostrate photos on Flickr

Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum (Gremli) Gams, syn.: Dorycnium germanicum (Gremli) Rikli, Dorycnium jordanii subsp. germanicum Gremli, Dorycnium sericeum (Neilr.) Borbás, Lotus dorycnium L.

Family: Fabaceae Lindl.

EN: Prostrate Canary Clover, German Leopard's Bane (?), DE: Deutscher Backenklee, Seiden-Backenklee, Seidenhaar-Backenklee

Slo.: malocvetna španska detelja

Dat.: May 23. 2022

Lat.: 44.81544 Long.: 14.34782

Code: Bot_1469/2022_DSC8123

Habitat: Rocky sea shore; moderately inclined terrain, southeast aspect, about 10 meters from sea shore; full sun; hot, dry, open terrain, in the reach of sea water splash; exposed to direct rain; elevation 5 m (15 feet); average precipitations ~ 1.000 mm/year, average temperature 13-14 deg C, Sub-Mediterranean phytogeographical region.

Substratum: soil among rocks

Place: Adriatic Sea, island Cres, sea shore south of village Martinšćica, Kvarner bay, Rijeka region, Croatia.

Comment (pertains to pictures in the Flickr album Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum): Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum is a low half-scrub loving warm, dry and sunny places. It is essentially a south European plant, however, it can be found also in the countries of east Balkan peninsula, Ukraine and Poland. Its key distinguishing traits from other similar species are long, adpressed, silver hairs on the sessile leaflets of five palmate leaves and relatively small number of very shortly petiolate flowers in the flower heads (8 – 15, Ref.:3). The traits of this find fit well to the descriptions in literature, so I have little doubts about the determination. However, two things bother me. The first is that many flower heads of this find consist of more than 15 flowers and the second is that the plants photographed, considered zero tolerant to salt (Ref.: 6), grow definitely in the reach of sea water splash during rough sea periods (and at the same time bloom so abundantly).

Ref.:

(1) T. Nikolić, Flora Croatica, Vaskularna flora Republike Hrvatske (Vascular Flora of Republic Croatia) (in Croatian), Vol. 2., Alfa d.d., Zagreb (2020) p 773,

(2) A. Martinči et all., Mala Flora Slovenije (Flora of Slovenia - Key) (in Slovenian), Tehnična Založba Slovenije (2007), p 308.

(3) K. Lauber and G. Wagner, Flora Helvetica, 5. Auflage, Haupt (2012), p 368.

(4) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 1., Haupt (2004), p 936.

(5) 'WFO (2023): Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. germanicum (Gremli) Rikli. Published on the Internet; www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000163644 (accessed on: 09 Jan 2023)

(6) daten.bayernflora.de/de/info_pflanzen.php?taxnr=1998 (accessed on: 09 Jan 2023)

Amaranth Prostrate Pigweed IGFB4 by Dr. Mark Merriwether Vorderbruggen

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Litany by Lawrence OP

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The candidates for ordination prostrate themselves before the Altar as all present invoke the angels and saints to pray with them for the candidates, their future ministry, and for the needs of the Church. The Litany, sung in Greek and Latin, was led by the Cantors.

Prostrate Clarkia, Clarkia prostrata by Bill Bouton

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Very limited range: known only from coastal edges of Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties.

The population shown was photographed at Arroyo de los Chinos, San Luis Obispo County, California, USA.

The use of any of my photos, of any file size, for any purpose, is subject to approval by me. Contact me for permission. Image files are available upon request. My email address is available at my Flickr profile page. Or send me a FlickrMail.

Grevillea banksii- Prostrate Red Form by Black Diamond Images

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Family : Proteaceae

Here at Round Hill Headland near Town of 1770 this species occurs side by side in both red and white (or cream) coloured forms with there being more on the site of the cream form than the red form.

Interestingly, this is the site where Captain Cook and Joseph Banks, presumably who the species was named after, came ashore on the 24th May 1770.

The following is from Tony Rodd - re the naming of Grevillea banksia.

G. banksii was named by Robert Brown in 1810, in the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Brown stated its origin as "In Novae Hollandiae ora orientale: Keppel Bay, Pine Port, &c". The actual specimen in the British Museum, chosen as lectotype by McGillivray and Makinson from among Brown's collections in the British Museum, is cited by them as "Port I [between Facing and Curtis Islands, near Gladstone]".

Here is a few other pics I have of a taller growing red form of Grevillea banksii I have growing here at home.

Here is a shot by tanetahi, with an interesting explanation, showing both red and cream plants of the taller variety growing together on the Herberton Range in North Queensland.

Série da Praça Navona, em Roma, Itália - Series of the Navona Square (Piazza Navona), in Rome, Italy - 17-10-2010 - IMG_1927 by Flávio Cruvinel Brandão

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www.meucat.com/maps/mapa_satelite.php?COD=roma&NOME=P...

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or "Fountain of the Four Rivers" is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located in the Piazza Navona. Designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini, it is emblematic of the dynamic and dramatic effects sought by High Baroque artists. It was erected in 1651 in front of the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, and yards from the Pamphilj Palace belonging to this fountain's patron, Innocent X (1644-1655).

The four gods on the corners of the fountain represent the four major rivers of the world known at the time: the Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Plate. The design of each god figure has symbolic importance.

Design

Bernini's design was selected in competition. The circumstances of his victory are described as follows:

So strong was the sinister influence of the rivals of Bernini on the mind of Innocent that when he planned to set up in Piazza Navona the great obelisk brought to Rome by the Emperor Caracalla, which had been buried for a long time at Capo di Bove for the adornment of a magnificent fountain, the Pope had designs made by the leading architects of Rome without an order for one to Bernini. Prince Niccolò Ludovisi, whose wife was niece to the pope, persuaded Bernini to prepare a model, and arrange for it to be secretly installed in a room in the Palazzo Pamphili that the Pope had to pass. When the meal was finished, seeing such a noble creation, he stopped almost in ecstasy. Being prince of the keenest judgment and the loftiest ideas, after admiring it, said: “This is a trick … It will be necessary to employ Bernini in spite of those who do not wish it, for he who desires not to use Bernini’s designs, must take care not to see them.”

Paraphrase from Filippo Baldinucci, The life of Cavaliere Bernini (1682)

Public fountains in Rome served multiple purposes: first, they were highly needed sources of water for neighbors in the centuries prior to home plumbing. Second, they were monuments to the papal patrons. Earlier Bernini fountains had been the Fountain of the Triton in Piazza Barberini, the fountain of the Moor in the southern end of Piazza Navona erected during the Barberini papacy, and the Neptune and Triton for Villa Montalto, whose statuary now resides at Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Each has animals and plants that further carry forth the identification, and each carries a certain number of allegories and metaphors with it. The Ganges carries a long oar, representing the river's navigability. The Nile's head is draped with a loose piece of cloth, meaning that no one at that time knew exactly where the Nile's source was. The Danube touches the Papal coat of arms, since it is the large river closest to Rome. And the Río de la Plata is sitting on a pile of coins, a symbol of the riches America could offer to Europe (the word plata means silver in Spanish). Also, the Río de la Plata looks scared by a snake, showing rich men's fear that their money could be stolen. Each is a river god, semi-prostrate, in awe of the central tower, epitomized by the slender Egyptian obelisk (built for the Roman Serapeum in AD 81), symbolizing by Papal power surmounted by the Pamphili symbol (dove). In addition, the fountain is a theater in the round, a spectacle of action, that can be strolled around. Water flows and splashes from a jagged and pierced mountainous disorder of travertine marble. A legend, common with tour-guides, is that Bernini positioned the cowering Rio de la Plata River as if the sculpture was fearing the facade of the church of Sant'Agnese by his rival Borromini could crumble against him; in fact, the fountain was completed several years before Borromini began work on the church.

The dynamic fusion of architecture and sculpture made this fountain revolutionary when compared to prior Roman projects, such as the stilted designs Acqua Felice and Paola by Fontana in Piazza San Bernardo (1585-87) or the customary embellished geometric floral-shaped basin below a jet of water such as the Fontanina in Piazza Campitelli (1589) by Giacomo della Porta.

Unveiling

he Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was unveiled to the populace of Rome on 12 June 1651. According to a report from the time, an event was organised to draw people to the Piazza Navona. Beforehand, wooden scaffolding, overlaid with curtains, had hidden the fountain, though probably not the obelisk, which would have given people an idea that something was being built, but the precise details were unknown. Once unveiled, the full majesty of the fountain would be apparent, which the celebrations were designed to advertise. The festival was paid for by the Pamphili family, to be specific, Innocent X, who had sponsored the erection of the fountain. The most conspicuous item on the Pamphili crest, an olive branch, was brandished by the performers who took part in the event.

The author of the report, Antonio Bernal, takes his readers through the hours leading up to the unveiling. The celebrations were announced by a woman, dressed as the allegorical character of Fame, being paraded around the streets of Rome on a carriage or float. She was sumptuously dressed, with wings attached to her back and a long trumpet in her hand. Bernal notes that "she went gracefully through all the streets and all the districts that are found among the seven hills of Rome, often blowing the round bronze [the trumpet], and urging everyone to make their way to that famous Piazza." A second carriage followed her; this time another woman was dressed as the allegorical figure of Curiosity. According to the report, she continued exhorting the people to go towards the piazza. Bernal describes the clamour and noise of the people as they discussed the upcoming event.

The report is actually less detailed about the process of publicly unveiling the fountain. However, it does give ample descriptions of the responses of the spectators who had gathered in the Piazza. Once there, Bernal notes, the citizens of the city were overwhelmed by the massive fountain, with its huge life-like figures. The report mentions the "enraptured souls" of the population, the fountain, which "gushes out a wealth of silvery treasures" causing "no little wonder" in the onlookers. Bernal then continues to describe the fountain, making continuous reference to the seeming naturalism of the figures and its astonishing effect on those in the piazza.

The making of the fountain was met by opposition by the people of Rome for several reasons. First, Innocent X had the fountain built at public expense during the intense famine of 1646-48. Throughout the construction of the fountain, the city murmurred and talk of riot was in the air. Pasquinade writers protested the construction of the fountain in September 1648 by attaching hand-written invectives on the stone blocks used to make the obelisk. These pasquinades read, "We do not want Obelisks and Fountains, It is bread that we want. Bread, Bread, Bread!" Innocent quickly had the authors arrested, and disguised spies patrol the Pasquino statue and Piazza Navona

The streetvendors of the market also opposed the construction of the fountain, as Innocent X expelled them from the piazza. The Pamphilij pope believed they detracted from the magnificence of the square. The vendors refused to move, and the papal police had to chase them from the piazza. Roman Jews, in particular, lamented the closing of the Navona, since they were allowed to sell used articles of clothing there at the Wednesday market.

Navona Square (Piazza Navona).

Following, a text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in first century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium.[1] The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones ("games"), and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis' (competition arena). It is believed that over time the name changed to 'in agone' to 'navone' and eventually to 'navona'.

Defined as a public space in the last years of 15th century, when the city market was transferred to it from the Campidoglio, the Piazza Navona is a significant example of Baroque Roman architecture and art. It features sculptural and architectural creations: in the center stands the famous Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi or Fountain of the Four Rivers (1651) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone by Francesco Borromini and Girolamo Rainaldi; and the Pamphilj palace also by Rainaldi and which features the gallery frescoed by Pietro da Cortona.

The Piazza Navona has two additional fountains: at the southern end is the Fontana del Moro with a basin and four Tritons sculpted by Giacomo della Porta (1575) to which, in 1673, Bernini added a statue of a Moor, or African, wrestling with a dolphin, and at the northern end is the Fountain of Neptune (1574) created by Giacomo della Porta. The statue of Neptune in the northern fountain, the work of Antonio Della Bitta, was added in 1878 to make that fountain more symmetrical with La Fontana del Moro in the south.

At the southwest end of the piazza is the ancient 'speaking' statue of Pasquino. Erected in 1501, Romans could leave lampoons or derogatory social commentary attached to the statue.

During its history, the piazza has hosted theatrical events and other ephemeral activities. From 1652 until 1866, when the festival was suppressed, it was flooded on every Saturday and Sunday in August in elaborate celebrations of the Pamphilj family. The pavement level was raised in the 19th century and the market was moved again in 1869 to the nearby Campo de' Fiori. A Christmas market is held in the piazza.

Other monuments on the Piazza Navona are:

Stabilimenti Spagnoli

Palazzo de Cupis

Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti

Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore

Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma)

Sant'Agnese in Agone

Literature and films

The piazza is featured in Dan Brown's 2000 thriller Angels and Demons, in which the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi "The Fountain of the four rivers"(the Danube, the Gange, the Nile and the River Plate) is listed as one of the Altars of Science. During June 2008, Ron Howard directed several scenes of the film adaptation of Angels and Demons on the southern section of the Piazza Navona, featuring Tom Hanks.

The piazza is featured in several scenes of director Mike Nichols' 1970 adaptation of Joseph Heller's novel, Catch-22.

The Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi was used in the 1990 film Coins in the Fountain. The characters threw coins into the fountain as they made wishes. The Trevi Fountain was used in the 1954 version of the film.

A Fontana Dei Quattro Fiumi, é maior das três fontes, localizada no centro da praça. Na fonte dos rios, Bernini projetou quatro estátuas representando os rios dos quatro continentes: o Nilo, o Danúbio, o rio da Prata e o Ganges. As estátuas estão montadas sobre um obelisco egípcio, sendo circundadas por leões e outros animais fantásticos, tendo no cume uma pomba em bronze, símbolo da paz no mundo e da família Pamphili. Para realçar a rivalidade entre Bernini e Borromini, que fez a igreja de Santa Agnese, os romanos criaram uma lenda em torno da fonte dos rios, que fica em frente a esta igreja. Segundo os romanos, as estátuas duvidam da solidez do projeto de Borromini. A que retrata o rio da Prata, tem a mão erguida, a proteger o corpo do desabamento da igreja; a que retrata o Nilo, traz a cabeça coberta por um véu, a recusar a ver a obra de Borromini.

A seguir um texto, em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia Livre:

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi

Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios), foi esculpida por Gian Lorenzo Bernini entre 1648 e 1651, artista do barroco italiano, foi concebida por uma ordem do Papa Inocencio X o Papa da familia Pamphili, cujo tinha sua casa nesta praça.

Esta localizada na Praça de Navona, em Roma. Ela representa os quatro principais continentes do mundo cortados por seus principais rios: Rio Nilo, na África; Rio Ganges, na Ásia, Rio da Prata, na América e o Rio Danúbio, na Europa.

A seguir, texto em português do site Wiki lingue:

A escultura da Fonte dos Quatro Rios, encontra-se na Piazza Navona de Roma (Itália) e foi criada e talhada pelo escultor e pintor Gian Lorenzo Bernini em 1651 baixo o papado de Inocencio X, em plena época barroca, durante o período mais prolífico do genial artista e cerca da que em outro tempo fué a Chiesa dei San Giacomo de gli Spagnoli

A fonte compõe-se de uma base formada de uma grande piscina elíptica, coroada em seu centro de uma grande mole de mármol, sobre a qual se eleva um obelisco egípcio de época romana, o obelisco de Domiciano .

As estátuas que compõem a fonte, têm umas dimensões maiores que na realidade e são alegorias dos quatro rios principais da Terra (Nilo, Ganges, Danubio, Rio da Prata), a cada um deles em um dos continentes conhecidos na época. Na fonte a cada um destes rios está representado por um gigante de mármol .

As árvores e as plantas que emergem da água e que se encontram entre as rochas, também estão em uma escala maior que na realidade. Os animais e vegetales, gerados de uma natureza boa e útil, pertencem a espécies grandes e potentes (como o leão, cavalo, cocodrilo, serpente, dragão, etc.). O espectador, girando em torno da fonte, descobre novas formas que dantes estavam escondidas ou cobertas pela massa rocosa. Com esta obra, Bernini quer suscitar admiração em quem olha-a, criando um pequeno universo em movimento a imitação do espaço da realidade natural.

A fonte foi submetida a restauração, um trabalho que se deu por concluído em dezembro de 2008. Constitui um dos palcos finque da novela e o filme Anjos e Demónios, à qual é arrojado um dos cardeais sequestrados, e Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) se lança à água para lhe salvar.

Os animais da fonte

A fonte apresenta figuras de sete animais, além de uma pequena pomba e o emblema dos Pamphili. Para poder observá-las basta com dar uma volta ao redor da fonte. As figuras são: um cavalo, uma serpente de terra (na parte mais alta, cerca do obelisco), uma serpente de mar, um delfín (que funciona também como desagüe), um cocodrilo, um leão e um dragão. Notar também a vegetación esculpida que parece real.

Praça Navona.

A seguir, um texto em português, da Wikipédia a Enciclopédia livre:

A Praça Navona (em italiano: Piazza Navona) é uma das mais célebres praças de Roma. A sua forma assemelha-se à dos antigos estádios da Roma Antiga, seguindo a planificação do Estádio de Domiciano (também denominado entre os italianos de Campomarzio, em virtude da natureza rude e esforçada dos exercícios - manejo de armas - e desportos atléticos que aí se realizavam). Albergaria até 20 mil espectadores sentados nas bancadas. A origem do nome deve-se ao nome pomposo que lhe foi dado ao tempo do Imperador Domiciano (imperador entre 81-96 d.c.): "Circo Agonístico" (do étimo grego Agonia, que significa precisamente - exercício, luta, combate). Actualmente o nome corresponde à corruptela da forma posterior in agone, depois nagone e finalmente navone, que por mero acaso significa também "grande navio" na língua italiana.

As casas que entretanto e com o passar dos anos foram sendo construídas sobre as bancadas, delimitariam e circunscreveriam até à actualidade o tão afamado Circo Agonístico.

A Navona passou de fato a caracterizar-se como praça nos últimos anos do século XV, quando o mercado da cidade foi transferido do Capitólio para aí. Foi remodelada para um estilo monumental por vontade do Papa Inocêncio X, da família Pamphili e é motivo de orgulho da cidade de Roma durante o período barroco. Sofreu intervenções de Gian Lorenzo Bernini (a famosa Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fonte dos Quatro Rios, 1651) ao centro); de Francesco Borromini e Girolamo Gainaldi (a igreja de Sant'Agnese in Agone); e de Pietro de Cortona, que pintou a galeria no Palácio Pamphilj, sede da embaixada do Brasil na Itália desde 1920.

O mercado tradicional voltou a ser transferido em 1869 para o Campo de' Fiori, embora a praça mantenha também um papel fundamental em servir de palco para espectáculos de teatro e corridas de cavalos. A partir de 1652, em todos os Sábados e Domingos de Agosto, a praça tornava-se num lago para celebrar a própria família Pamphili.

A praça dispõe ainda duas outras fontes esculpidas por Giacomo della Porta - a Fontana di Nettuno (1574), na área norte da praça, e a Fontana del Moro (1576), na área sul.

Na extremidade norte da praça, por debaixo dos edifícios, foram postas a descoberto ruínas antiquíssimas, a uma cota muito abaixo da actual, comprovando a primeva utilização daquele imenso terreiro. Outros monumentos com entrada para a praça:

Stabilimenti Spagnoli

Palazzo de Cupis

Palazzo Torres Massimo Lancellotti

Church of Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore

Curiosidades

Na Piazza Navona, está localizado o Palazzo Pamphilj, propriedade da República Federativa do Brasil, sede da Embaixada Brasileira e da Missão Diplomática do Brasil para a Itália.

Atriplex semibaccata by Jean and Fred Hort

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Common names: Berry saltbush, creeping saltbush

A prostrate plant growing in land often classed as wasteland. It is not a weed. We found it growing along the banks of the Avon River in York. Other plants growing there included Frankenia, Heliotrope and other saltbush plants.

The plants were growing on the banks of the Avon River in York and attracted insects that were feeding on the tiny flowers of the plant.

I like the little red berries that look like a pixie cap.

ID: Dr Kelly A. Shepherd, Senior Research Scientist Western Australian Herbarium

Photo: Jean

Nepal - Kathmandu Valley - Pharping - Dakshinkali Temple -13- by Manfred Sommer

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The Dakshinkali Temple is located 22 kilometers from Kathmandu next to the village of Pharping. It's one of the main temples in Nepal. Twice every week thousands of people come here to worship the goddess Kali by sacrificing life animals, particularly cockerels and uncastrated male goats.

GODDESS KALI

Kālī (/ˈkɑːli/; Sanskrit: काली & Bengali: কালী; IPA: [kɑːliː]), also known as Kālikā (Sanskrit: कालिका), is the Hindu goddess associated with empowerment, or shakti. She is the fierce aspect of the goddess Durga. The name of Kali means black one and force of time; she is therefore called the Goddess of Time, Change, Power, Creation, Preservation, and Destruction. Her earliest appearance is that of a destroyer principally of evil forces. Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman; and recent devotional movements re-imagine Kāli as a benevolent mother goddess. She is often portrayed standing or dancing on her husband, the god Shiva, who lies calm and prostrate beneath her. Worshipped throughout India but particularly South India, Bengal, and Assam, Kali is both geographically and culturally marginal.

ETYMOLOGY

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

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

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

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 Kāli 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 ("Bloodseed"). The tenth-century Kalika Purana venerates Kāli as the ultimate reality.

According to David Kinsley, Kāli 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.

WORSHIP AND MANTRA

Kali could be considered a general concept, like Durga, and is mostly worshiped in the Kali Kula sect of worship. The closest way of direct worship is Maha Kali or Bhadra Kali (Bhadra in Sanskrit means 'gentle'). Kali is worshiped as one of the 10 Mahavidya forms of Adi Parashakti (Goddess Durga) or Bhagavathy according to the region. The mantra for worship is

Sanskrit: सर्वमङ्गलमाङ्गल्ये शिवे सर्वार्थसाधिके । शरण्ये त्र्यम्बके गौरि नारायणि नमोऽस्तु ते ॥

ॐ जयंती मंगल काली भद्रकाली कपालिनी । दुर्गा शिवा क्षमा धात्री स्वाहा स्वधा नमोऽस्तु‍ते ॥

(Sarvamaṅgalamāṅgalyē śivē sarvārthasādhikē . śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namō'stu tē.

Oṃ jayantī mangala kālī bhadrakālī kapālinī . durgā śivā ksamā dhātrī svāhā svadhā namō'stu‍tē.)

YANTRA

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. In many sources Kāli 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 Kāli's mantras to be the greatest and the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra all proclaim Kāli 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, Kāli is one of the epithets for the primordial sakti, and in one passage Shiva praises her:At the dissolution of things, it is Kāla [Time]. Who will devour all, and by reason of this He is called Mahākāla [an epithet of Lord Shiva], and since Thou devourest Mahākāla Himself, it is Thou who art the Supreme Primordial Kālika. Because Thou devourest Kāla, Thou art Kāli, the original form of all things, and because Thou art the Origin of and devourest all things Thou art called the Adya [the Primordial One]. Re-assuming 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 Kāli 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, a short praise of Kāli describing the Pancatattva ritual unto her, performed on cremation grounds. (Samahana-sadhana)He, O Mahākāli 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. Oh Kāli, whoever on Tuesday at midnight, having uttered Thy mantra, makes offering even but once with devotion to Thee of a hair of his Shakti [his energy/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 Kāli 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, 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.

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, Kāli is rarely pictured in Hindu legends and iconography as a motherly figure until Bengali devotions beginning in the early eighteenth century. Even in Bengāli tradition her appearance and habits change little, if at all.

The Tantric approach to Kāli 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 Kāli's teachings adopting the attitude of a child, coming to love her unreservedly. 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 Rāmprasād's work. Rāmprasād comments in many of his other songs that Kāli 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 Kāli, Rāmprasād asserts, is to be denied of earthly delights and pleasures. Kāli is said to refrain from giving that which 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 Kāli as its central theme and is known as Shyama Sangeet ("Music of the Night"). Mostly sung by male vocalists, today even women have taken to this form of music. One of the finest singers of Shyāma Sāngeet is Pannalal Bhattacharya.

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

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

LEGENDS

SLAYER AND RAKTABIJA

In Kāli's most famous legend, Devi Durga (Adi Parashakti) and her assistants, the Matrikas, wound the demon Raktabija, in various ways and with a variety of weapons in an attempt to destroy him. They soon find that they have worsened the situation for with every drop of blood that is dripped from Raktabija he reproduces a clone of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates. Durga, in need of help, summons Kāli to combat the demons. It is said, in some versions, that Goddess Durga actually assumes the form of Goddess Kāli at this time. The Devi Mahatmyam describes:

Out of the surface of her (Durga's) forehead, fierce with frown, issued suddenly Kali of terrible countenance, armed with a sword and noose. Bearing the strange khatvanga (skull-topped staff ), decorated with a garland of skulls, clad in a tiger's skin, very appalling owing to her emaciated flesh, with gaping mouth, fearful with her tongue lolling out, having deep reddish eyes, filling the regions of the sky with her roars, falling upon impetuously and slaughtering the great asuras in that army, she devoured those hordes of the foes of the devas.

Kali consumes Raktabija and his duplicates, and dances on the corpses of the slain. In the Devi Mahatmya version of this story, Kali is also described as a Matrika and as a Shakti or power of Devi. She is given the epithet Cāṃuṇḍā (Chamunda), i.e. the slayer of the demons Chanda and Munda. Chamunda is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.

DAKSHINA KALI

In her most famous pose as Daksinakali, popular legends say that Kali, drunk on the blood of her victims, is about to destroy the whole universe when, urged by all the gods, Shiva lies in her way to stop her, and she steps upon his chest. Recognizing Shiva beneath her feet, she calms herself. Though not included in any of the puranas, popular legends state that Kali was ashamed at the prospect of keeping her husband beneath her feet and thus stuck her tongue out in shame. The Devi-Bhagavata Purana, which goes into great depths about the goddess Kali, reveals the tongue's actual symbolism.

The characteristic icons that depict Kali are the following; unbridled matted hair, open blood shot eyes, open mouth and a drooping tongue; in her hands, she holds a Khadga (bent sword or scimitar) and a human head; she has a girdle of human hands across her waist, and Shiva lies beneath her feet. The drooping out-stuck tongue represents her blood-thirst. Lord Shiva beneath her feet represents matter, as Kali energy. The depiction of Kali on Shiva shows that without energy, matter lies "dead". This concept has been simplified to a folk-tale depicting a wife placing her foot

on her husband and sticking her tongue out in shame. In tantric contexts, the tongue is seen to denote the element (guna) of rajas (energy and action) controlled by sattva.

If Kali steps on Shiva with her right foot and holds the sword in her left hand, she is considered to be Dakshina Kali. The Dakshina Kali Temple has important religious associations with the Jagannath Temple and it is believed that Daksinakali is the guardian of the kitchen of the Lord Jagannath Temple. Puranic tradition says that in Puri, Lord Jagannath is regarded as Daksinakalika. Goddess Dakshinakali plays an important role in the 'Niti' of Saptapuri Amavasya.

One South Indian tradition tells of a dance contest between Shiva and Kali. After defeating the two demons Sumbha and Nisumbha, Kali takes up residence in the forest of Thiruvalankadu or Thiruvalangadu. She terrorizes the surrounding area with her fierce, disruptive nature. One of Shiva's devotees becomes distracted while performing austerities, and asks Shiva to rid the forest of the destructive goddess. When Shiva arrives, Kali threatens him, and Shiva challenges Kali to a dance contest, wherein Kali matches Shiva until Shiva takes the "Urdhvatandava" step, vertically raising his right leg. Kali refuses to perform this step, which would not befit her as a woman, and becomes pacified.

SMASHAN KALI

If the Kali steps out with the left foot and holds the sword in her right hand, she is the terrible form of Mother, the Smashan Kali of the cremation ground. She is worshiped by tantrics, the followers of Tantra, who believe that one's spiritual discipline practiced in a smashan (cremation ground) brings success quickly. Sarda Devi, the consort of Ramakrishna Paramhansa, worshipped Smashan Kali at Dakshineshwar.

MATERNAL KALI

At the time of samundra manthan when amrit came out, along with that came out poison which was going to destroy the world hence on the request of all the gods, Lord Shiva drank it to save the world but as he is beyond death he didn't die but was very much in pain due to the poison effect hence he became a child so that Kali can feed him with her milk which will sooth out the poison effect.

MAHAKALI

Mahakali (Sanskrit: Mahākālī, Devanagari: महाकाली), literally translated as Great Kali, is sometimes considered as a greater form of Kali, identified with the Ultimate reality of Brahman. It can also be used as an honorific of the Goddess Kali, signifying her greatness by the prefix "Mahā-". Mahakali, in Sanskrit, is etymologically the feminized variant of Mahakala or Great Time (which is interpreted also as Death), an epithet of the God Shiva in Hinduism. Mahakali is the presiding Goddess of the first episode of the Devi Mahatmya. Here she is depicted as Devi in her universal form as Shakti. Here Devi serves as the agent who allows the cosmic order to be restored.

Kali is depicted in the Mahakali form as having ten heads, ten arms, and ten legs. Each of her ten hands is carrying a various implement which vary in different accounts, but each of these represent the power of one of the Devas or Hindu Gods and are often the identifying weapon or ritual item of a given Deva. The implication is that Mahakali subsumes and is responsible for the powers that these deities possess and this is in line with the interpretation that Mahakali is identical with Brahman. While not displaying ten heads, an "ekamukhi" or one headed image may be displayed with ten arms, signifying the same concept: the powers of the various Gods come only through Her grace.

ICONOGRAPHY

Kali is portrayed mostly in two forms: the popular four-armed form and the ten-armed Mahakali form. In both of her forms, she is described as being black in color but is most often depicted as blue in popular Indian art. Her eyes are described as red with intoxication, and in absolute rage, her hair is shown disheveled, small fangs sometimes protrude out of her mouth, and her tongue is lolling. She is often shown naked or just wearing a skirt made of human arms and a garland of human heads. She is also accompanied by serpents and a jackal while standing on a seemingly dead Shiva, usually right foot forward to symbolize the more popular Dakshinamarga or right-handed path, as opposed to the more infamous and transgressive Vamamarga or left-handed path.

In the ten-armed form of Mahakali she is depicted as shining like a blue stone. She has ten faces, ten feet, and three eyes for each head. She has ornaments decked on all her limbs. There is no association with Shiva.

The Kalika Purana describes Kali as possessing a soothing dark complexion, as perfectly beautiful, riding a lion, four-armed, holding a sword and blue lotuses, her hair unrestrained, body firm and youthful.

In spite of her seemingly terrible form, Kali Ma is often considered the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses, as she is regarded by her devotees as the Mother of the whole Universe. And because of her terrible form, she is also often seen as a great protector. When the Bengali saint Ramakrishna once asked a devotee why one would prefer to worship Mother over him, this devotee rhetorically replied, "Maharaj", when they are in trouble your devotees come running to you. But, where do you run when you are in trouble?"

According to Ramakrishna, darkness is the Ultimate Mother, or Kali:

My Mother is the principle of consciousness. She is Akhanda Satchidananda;

indivisible Reality, Awareness, and Bliss. The night sky between the stars is perfectly black.

The waters of the ocean depths are the same; The infinite is always mysteriously dark.

This inebriating darkness is my beloved Kali.

—Sri Ramakrishna

This is clear in the works of such contemporary artists as Charles Wish, and Tyeb Mehta, who sometimes take great liberties with the traditional, accepted symbolism, but still demonstrate a true reverence for the Shakta sect.

POPULAR FORM

Classic depictions of Kali share several features, as follows:

Kali's most common four armed iconographic image shows each hand carrying variously a sword, a trishul (trident), a severed head, and a bowl or skull-cup (kapala) catching the blood of the severed head.

Two of these hands (usually the left) are holding a sword and a severed head. The Sword signifies Divine Knowledge and the Human Head signifies human Ego which must be slain by Divine Knowledge in order to attain Moksha. The other two hands (usually the right) are in the abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (blessing) mudras, which means her initiated devotees (or anyone worshipping her with a true heart) will be saved as she will guide them here and in the hereafter.

She has a garland consisting of human heads, variously enumerated at 108 (an auspicious number in Hinduism and the number of countable beads on a Japa Mala or rosary for repetition of Mantras) or 51, which represents Varnamala or the Garland of letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, Devanagari. Hindus believe Sanskrit is a language of dynamism, and each of these letters represents a form of energy, or a form of Kali. Therefore, she is generally seen as the mother of language, and all mantras.

She is often depicted naked which symbolizes her being beyond the covering of Maya since she is pure (nirguna) being-consciousness-bliss and far above prakriti. She is shown as very dark as she is brahman in its supreme unmanifest state. She has no permanent qualities - she will continue to exist even when the universe ends. It is therefore believed that the concepts of color, light, good, bad do not apply to her - she is the pure, un-manifested energy, the Adi-shakti.

Kali as the Symbol of Creation , Freedom , Preservation and Destruction

The head that hangs in Kali's hand is a symbol of Ego and the scimitar which she is holding represents power and energy.It is believed that Kali is protecting the human race by that scimitar and also destroying the negativity and ego within human being. The body lying under Kali symbolizes ruination, is actually a form of Shiva. Kali steps her leg on the chest of the body and suppress ruination . Since she is standing on the pure white chest of Lord Shiva who, as pure primal awareness, lays in a passive reclining position, peacefully lies with his eyes half open in a state of bliss. Her hair is long, black and flowing freely depicting Her freedom from convention and the confines of conceptualization. The white teeth which Kali has stands for conscience and her red tongue represents greed. By pressing her white teeth on her tongue Kali refers to control greed.The goddess may appear terrible from outside but every symbol in Kali signifies truth of life. Since the earth was created out of darkness, the dark black color of Kali symbolizes the color from which everything was born. Her right hand side arms she shows the Abhaya mudra(gesture of fearlessness) and Vara mudra (gesture of welcome and charity) respectively . But on the other arm in left side she holds a bloody scimitar and a severed head depicting destruction and end of ego.

Kali as the Symbol of Mother Nature

The name Kali means Kala or force of time. When there were neither the creation, nor the sun, the moon, the planets, and the earth, there was only darkness and everything was created from the darkness. The Dark appearance of kali represents the darkness from which everything was born. Her complexion is deep blue, like the sky and ocean water as blue. As she is also the goddess of Preservation Kali is worshiped as mother to preserve the nature.Kali is standing calm on Shiva, her appearance represents the preservation of mother nature. Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom from civilization. Under the third eye of kali, the signs of both sun, moon and fire are visible which represent the driving forces of nature.

SHIVA IN KALI ICONOGRAPHY

In both these images she is shown standing on the prone, inert or dead body of Shiva. There is a legend for the reason behind her standing on what appears to be Shiva's corpse, which translates as follows:

Once Kali had destroyed all the demons in battle, she began a terrific dance out of the sheer joy of victory. All the worlds or lokas began to tremble and sway under the impact of her dance. So, at the request of all the Gods, Shiva himself asked her to desist from this behavior. However, she was too intoxicated to listen. Hence, Shiva lay like a corpse among the slain demons in order to absorb the shock of the dance into himself. When Kali eventually stepped upon Shiva, she realized she was trampling and hurting her husband and bit her tongue in shame.

The story described here is a popular folk tale and not described or hinted in any of the puranas. The puranic interpretation is as follows:

Once, Parvati asks Shiva to chose the one form among her 10 forms which he likes most. To her surprise, Shiva reveals that he is most comfortable with her Kali form, in which she is bereft of her jewellery, her human-form, her clothes, her emotions and where she is only raw, chaotic energy, where she is as terrible as time itself and even greater than time. As Parvati takes the form of Kali, Shiva lies at her feet and requests her to place her foot on his chest, upon his heart. Once in this form, Shiva requests her to have this place, below her feet in her iconic image which would be worshiped throughout.

This idea has been explored in the Devi-Bhagavata Purana [28] and is most popular in the Shyama Sangeet, devotional songs to Kali from the 12th to 15th centuries.

The Tantric interpretation of Kali standing on top of her husband is as follows:

The Shiv tattava (Divine Consciousness as Shiva) is inactive, while the Shakti tattava (Divine Energy as Kali) is active. Shiva and Kali represent Brahman, the Absolute pure consciousness which is beyond all names, forms and activities. Kali, on the other hand, represents the potential (and manifested) energy responsible for all names, forms and activities. She is his Shakti, or creative power, and is seen as the substance behind the entire content of all consciousness. She can never exist apart from Shiva or act independently of him, just as Shiva remains a mere corpse without Kali i.e., Shakti, all the matter/energy of the universe, is not distinct from Shiva, or Brahman, but is rather the dynamic power of Brahman. Hence, Kali is Para Brahman in the feminine and dynamic aspect while Shiva is the male aspect and static. She stands as the absolute basis for all life, energy and beneath her feet lies, Shiva, a metaphor for mass, which cannot retain its form without energy.

While this is an advanced concept in monistic Shaktism, it also agrees with the Nondual Trika philosophy of Kashmir, popularly known as Kashmir Shaivism and associated most famously with Abhinavagupta. There is a colloquial saying that "Shiva without Shakti is Shava" which means that without the power of action (Shakti) that is Mahakali (represented as the short "i" in Devanagari) Shiva (or consciousness itself) is inactive; Shava means corpse in Sanskrit and the play on words is that all Sanskrit consonants are assumed to be followed by a short letter "a" unless otherwise noted. The short letter "i" represents the female power or Shakti that activates Creation. This is often the explanation for why She is standing on Shiva, who is either Her husband and complement in Shaktism or the Supreme Godhead in Shaivism.

To properly understand this complex Tantric symbolism it is important to remember that the meaning behind Shiva and Kali does not stray from the non-dualistic parlance of Shankara or the Upanisads. According to both the Mahanirvana and Kularnava Tantras, there are two distinct ways of perceiving the same absolute reality. The first is a transcendental plane which is often described as static, yet infinite. It is here that there is no matter, there is no universe and only consciousness exists. This form of reality is known as Shiva, the absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda - existence, knowledge and bliss. The second is an active plane, an immanent plane, the plane of matter, of Maya, i.e., where the illusion of space-time and the appearance of an actual universe does exist. This form of reality is known as Kali or Shakti, and (in its entirety) is still specified as the same Absolute Sat-Chit-Ananda. It is here in this second plane that the universe (as we commonly know it) is experienced and is described by the Tantric seer as the play of Shakti, or God as Mother Kali.

From a Tantric perspective, when one meditates on reality at rest, as absolute pure consciousness (without the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to this as Shiva or Brahman. When one meditates on reality as dynamic and creative, as the Absolute content of pure consciousness (with all the activities of creation, preservation or dissolution) one refers to it as Kali or Shakti. However, in either case the yogini or yogi is interested in one and the same reality - the only difference being in name and fluctuating aspects of appearance. It is this which is generally accepted as the meaning of Kali standing on the chest of Shiva.

Although there is often controversy surrounding the images of divine copulation, the general consensus is benign and free from any carnal impurities in its substance. In Tantra the human body is a symbol for the microcosm of the universe; therefore sexual process is responsible for the creation of the world. Although theoretically Shiva and Kali (or Shakti) are inseparable, like fire and its power to burn, in the case of creation they are often seen as having separate roles. With Shiva as male and Kali as female it is only by their union that creation may transpire. This reminds us of the prakrti and purusa doctrine of Samkhya wherein prakāśa- vimarśa has no practical value, just as without prakrti, purusa is quite inactive. This (once again) stresses the interdependencies of Shiva and Shakti and the vitality of their union.

Gopi Krishna proposed that Kali standing on the dead Shiva or Shava (Sanskrit for dead body) symbolised the helplessness of a person undergoing the changing process (psychologically and physiologically) in the body conducted by the Kundalini Shakti.

DEVELOPMENT

In the later traditions, Kali has become inextricably linked with Shiva. The unleashed form of Kali often becomes wild and uncontrollable, and only Shiva is able to tame her just as only Kali can tame Shiva. This is both because she is often a transformed version of one of his consorts and because he is able to match her wildness.

The ancient text of Kali Kautuvam describes her competition with Shiva in dance, from which the sacred 108 Karanas appeared. Shiva won the competition by acting the urdva tandava, one of the Karanas, by raising his feet to his head. Other texts describe Shiva appearing as a crying infant and appealing to her maternal instincts. While Shiva is said to be able to tame her, the iconography often presents her dancing on his fallen body, and there are accounts of the two of them dancing together, and driving each other to such wildness that the world comes close to unravelling.

Shiva's involvement with Tantra and Kali's dark nature have led to her becoming an important Tantric figure. To the Tantric worshippers, it was essential to face her Curse, the terror of death, as willingly as they accepted Blessings from her beautiful, nurturing, maternal aspect. For them, wisdom meant learning that no coin has only one side: as death cannot exist without life, so life cannot exist without death. Kali's role sometimes grew beyond that of a chaos - which could be confronted - to that of one who could bring wisdom, and she is given great metaphysical significance by some Tantric texts. The Nirvāna-tantra clearly presents her uncontrolled nature as the Ultimate Reality, claiming that the trimurti of Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra arise and disappear from her like bubbles from the sea. Although this is an extreme case, the Yogini-tantra, Kamakhya-tantra and the Niruttara-tantra declare her the svarupa (own-being) of the Mahadevi (the great Goddess, who is in this case seen as the combination of all devis).The final stage of development is the worshipping of Kali as the Great Mother, devoid of her usual violence. This practice is a break from the more traditional depictions. The pioneers of this tradition are the 18th century Shakta poets such as Ramprasad Sen, who show an awareness of Kali's ambivalent nature. Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali saint, was also a great devotee of Kali; the western popularity of whom may have contributed to the more modern, equivocal interpretations of this Goddess. Rachel McDermott's work, however, suggests that for the common, modern worshipper, Kali is not seen as fearful, and only those educated in old traditions see her as having a wrathful component. Some credit to the development of Devi must also be given to Samkhya. Commonly referred to as the Devi of delusion, Mahamaya or Durga, acting in the confines of (but not being bound by) the nature of the three gunas, takes three forms: Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi and Maha-Saraswati, being her tamas-ika, rajas-ika and sattva-ika forms. In this sense, Kali is simply part of a larger whole.

Like Sir John Woodroffe and Georg Feuerstein, many Tantric scholars (as well as sincere practitioners) agree that, no matter how propitious or appalling you describe them, Shiva and Devi are simply recognizable symbols for everyday, abstract (yet tangible) concepts such as perception, knowledge, space-time, causation and the process of liberating oneself from the confines of such things. Shiva, symbolizing pure, absolute consciousness, and Devi, symbolizing the entire content of that consciousness, are ultimately one and the same - totality incarnate, a micro-macro-cosmic amalgamation of all subjects, all objects and all phenomenal relations between the "two." Like man and woman who both share many common, human traits yet at the same time they are still different and, therefore, may also be seen as complementary.

Worshippers prescribe various benign and horrific qualities to Devi simply out of practicality. They do this so they may have a variety of symbols to choose from, symbols which they can identify and relate with from the perspective of their own, ever-changing time, place and personal level of unfolding. Just like modern chemists or physicists use a variety of molecular and atomic models to describe what is unperceivable through rudimentary, sensory input, the scientists of ontology and epistemology must do the same. One of the underlying distinctions of Tantra, in comparison to other religions, is that it allows the devotee the liberty to choose from a vast array of complementary symbols and rhetoric which suit one's evolving needs and tastes. From an aesthetic standpoint, nothing is interdict and nothing is orthodox. In this sense, the projection of some of Devi's more gentle qualities onto Kali is not sacrilege and the development of Kali really lies in the practitioner, not the murthi.

A TIME magazine article of October 27, 1947, used Kali as a symbol and metaphor for the human suffering in British India during its partition that year. In 1971, Ms. Magazine used an image of Kali, her multiple arms juggling modern tasks, as a symbol of modern womanhood on its inaugural issue.

Swami Vivekananda wrote his favorite poem Kali the Mother in 1898.

KALI IN NEOPAGAN AND NEW AGE PRACTICE

An academic study of Western Kali enthusiasts noted that, "as shown in the histories of all cross-cultural religious transplants, Kali devotionalism in the West must take on its own indigenous forms if it is to adapt to its new environment."[60] The adoption of Kali by the West has raised accusations of cultural appropriation:

A variety of writers and thinkers have found Kali an exciting figure for reflection and exploration, notably feminists and participants in New Age spirituality who are attracted to goddess worship. [For them], Kali is a symbol of wholeness and healing, associated especially with repressed female power and sexuality. [However, such interpretations often exhibit] confusion and misrepresentation, stemming from a lack of knowledge of Hindu history among these authors, [who only rarely] draw upon materials written by scholars of the Hindu religious tradition. The majority instead rely chiefly on other popular feminist sources, almost none of which base their interpretations on a close reading of Kali's Indian background. The most important issue arising from this discussion - even more important than the question of 'correct' interpretation - concerns the adoption of other people's religious symbols. It is hard to import the worship of a goddess from another culture: religious associations and connotations have to be learned, imagined or intuited when the deep symbolic meanings embedded in the native culture are not available.

INCARNATIONS OF KALI

Draupadi, Wife of Pandavas, was an avatar of Kali, who born to assist Lord Krishna to destroy arrogant kings of India. There is a temple dedicated to this incarnation at Banni Mata Temple at Himachal Pradesh. The vedic deity Nirriti or the Puranic deity Alakshmi is often considered as incarnations of Kali.

WIKIPEDIA

Devotion - Prostrating your body length Around the World 1 by Lucky Like Lucy

6 8

British Museum by Aria Mehr

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Cyrus Cylinder

Translate To English :

1. [When…...................................................................................................................................]

2. [… .......................................................................................................................wor]ld quarters

3. [..............................................................…] … a low person was put in charge of his country,

4. but [..................................................................................] he set [a (…) counter]feit over them.

5. He ma[de] a counterfeit of Esagil, [and .....….......]... for Ur and the rest of the cult-cities.

6. Rites inappropriate to them, [impure] fo[od- offerings ….......................................................] disrespectful […] were daily gabbled, and, as an insult,

7. he brought the daily offerings to a halt; he inter[fered with the rites and] instituted […....] within the sanctuaries. In his mind, reverential fear of Marduk, king of the gods, came to an end.

8. He did yet more evil to his city every day; … his [people ................…], he brought ruin on them all by a yoke without relief.

9. Enlil-of-the-gods became extremely angry at their complaints, and […] their territory. The gods who lived within them left their shrines,

10. angry that he had made (them) enter into Shuanna (Babylon). Ex[alted Marduk, Enlil-of-the-Go]ds, relented. He changed his mind about all the settlements whose sanctuaries were in ruins,

11. and the population of the land of Sumer and Akkad who had become like corpses, and took pity on them. He inspected and checked all the countries,

12. seeking for the upright king of his choice. He took the hand of Cyrus, king of the city of Anshan, and called him by his name, proclaiming him aloud for the kingship over all of everything.

13. He made the land of Guti and all the Median troops prostrate themselves at his feet, while he shepherded in justice and righteousness the black-headed people

14. whom he had put under his care. Marduk, the great lord, who nurtures his people, saw with pleasure his fine deeds and true heart,

15. and ordered that he should go to Babylon He had him take the road to Tintir (Babylon), and, like a friend and companion, he walked at his side.

16. His vast troops whose number, like the water in a river, could not be counted, were marching fully-armed at his side.

17. He had him enter without fighting or battle right into Shuanna; he saved his city Babylon from hardship. He handed over to him Nabonidus, the king who did not fear him.

18. All the people of Tintir, of all Sumer and Akkad, nobles and governors, bowed down before him and kissed his feet, rejoicing over his kingship and their faces shone.

19. The lord through whose help all were rescued from death and who saved them all from distress and hardship, they blessed him sweetly and praised his name.

20. I am Cyrus, king of the universe, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world,

21. son of Cambyses, the great king, king of the city of Anshan, grandson of Cyrus, the great king, ki[ng of the ci]ty of Anshan, descendant of Teispes, the great king, king of the city of Anshan,

22. the perpetual seed of kingship, whose reign Bel (Marduk)and Nabu love, and with whose kingship, to their joy, they concern themselves. When I went as harbinger of peace i[nt]o Babylon

23. I founded my sovereign residence within the palace amid celebration and rejoicing. Marduk, the great lord, bestowed on me as my destiny the great magnanimity of one who loves Babylon, and I every day sought him out in awe.

24. My vast troops were marching peaceably in Babylon, and the whole of [Sumer] and Akkad had nothing to fear.

25. I sought the safety of the city of Babylon and all its sanctuaries. As for the population of Babylon […, w]ho as if without div[ine intention] had endured a yoke not decreed for them,

26. I soothed their weariness; I freed them from their bonds(?). Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds,

27. and he pronounced a sweet blessing over me, Cyrus, the king who fears him, and over Cambyses, the son [my] issue, [and over] my all my troops,

28. that we might live happily in his presence, in well-being. At his exalted command, all kings who sit on thrones,

29. from every quarter, from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, those who inhabit [remote distric]ts (and) the kings of the land of Amurru who live in tents, all of them,

30. brought their weighty tribute into Shuanna, and kissed my feet. From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa,

31. Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated,

32. the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements,

33. and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord,

34. I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries,

35. every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: “Cyrus, the king who fears you, and Cambyses his son,

36. may their … […......................................................…….].” The population of Babylon call blessings on my kingship, and I have enabled all the lands to live in peace.

37. Every day I increased by [… ge]ese, two ducks and ten pigeons the [former offerings] of geese, ducks and pigeons.

38. I strove to strengthen the defences of the wall Imgur-Enlil, the great wall of Babylon,

39. and [I completed] the quay of baked brick on the bank of the moat which an earlier king had bu[ilt but not com]pleted its work.

40. [I …… which did not surround the city] outside, which no earlier king had built, his workforce, the levee [from his land, in/int]o Shuanna.

41. [… .......................................................................with bitum]en and baked brick I built anew, and [completed] its [work].

42. […...........................................................] great [doors of cedarwood] with bronze cladding,

43. [and I installed] all their doors, threshold slabs and door fittings with copper parts. [….......................] I saw within it an inscription of Ashurbanipal, a king who preceded me;

44. […............................................................................................................................................]...

45. [….................................................................................................................................for] ever.

Translate To Persian :

* خط ۱. «کورش» (در متن بابلی : «کو - رَ - آش»)، شاه جهان، شاه بزرگ، شاه توانمند، شاه «بـابـِل»(با - بی - لیم)، شاه «سـومـر»(شو- مـِ - ری) و «اَکـَّد»(اَ‌ک - کـ َ- دی - ای)، ...

* خط ۲. ... همهٔ جهان.

از این جا تا پایان سطر نوزدهم، نه از زبان کورش، بلکه به روایت ناظری ناشناخته که می‌تواند نظر اهالی و بزرگان بابل باشد، بازگو می‌شود.

* خط ۳. ... مرد ناشایستی به فرمانروایی کشورش رسیده بود.

* خط ۴. او آیین‌های کهن را از میان برد و چیزهای ساختگی به جای آن گذاشت.

* خط ۵. معبدی بَدلی از نیایشگاه «اِسَـگیلَـه»(اِ- سَگ - ایلَـه) برای شهر «اور»(او - ریم) و دیگر شهرها ساخت.

«اِسَـگیـلَـه / اِزاگیلا» نام نیایشگاه بزرگ «مردوک» یا خدای بزرگ است. این نام شباهت فراوانی با نام نیایشگاه ایرانی «اِزَگین» در «اَرَتـَه» دارد که در حماسهٔ سومری «اِنمِـرکار و فرمانروای اَرَته» بازگو شده‌است. آقای «جهانشاه درخشانی» در «آریاییان، مردم کاشی و دیگر ایرانیان»(تهران، ۱۳۸۲، ص ۵۰۷)، «اِزَگین» را به معنای «سنگ لاجورد» می‌داند. از سوی دیگر «کاسیان» نیز رنگ آبی را رنگ خداوند به شمار می‌آوردند و «کاشـّو / کاسـّو»، نام خدای بزرگ آنان به معنای «رنگ آبی» است. امروزه همچنان واژهٔ «کاس» برای رنگ آبی در گویش‌های محلی بکار می‌رود. برای نمونه در گیلان، مردان با چشم آبی را «کاس آقا» خطاب می‌کنند. همچنین برای آگاهی از پیوند اَرَتـَه با نواحی باستانی ِحاشیهٔ هلیل رود در جنوب جیرفت بنگرید به : مجیدزاده، یوسف، جیرفت کهن ترین تمدن شرق، تهران، ۱۳۸۲

* خط ۶. او کار ناشایست قربانی کردن را رواج داد که پیش از آن نبود ... هر روز کارهایی ناپسند می‌کرد، خشونت و بدکرداری.

* خط ۷. او کارهای ... روزمره را دشوار ساخت. او با مقررات نامناسب در زنـدگی مـردم دخالت می‌کرد. اندوه و غم را در شهرها پراکند. او از پرستش «مَـردوک»(اَمَـر - اوتو) خدای بزرگ روی برگرداند.

گمان می‌رود نام «مردوک» با واژهٔ آریایی و اوستایی «اَمِـرِتات» به معنای «جاودانگی / بی مرگی» در پیوند باشد. اما ویژگی‌های دیگر مردوک شباهت‌هایی با «اهورامزدا» دارد و همچون او در سیارهٔ «مشتری» متجلی می‌شده‌است. همان گونه که مردوک را با نام «اَمَـر - اوتو» می‌شناخته اند؛ از او با نام آریایی و کاسی ِ«شوگورو» نیز یاد می‌کرده‌اند که به معنای «بزرگ ترین سرور» بوده و با معنای اهورامزدا (سرور دانا / سرور خردمند) در پیوند است

* خط ۸. او مردم را به سختی معاش دچار کرد. هر روز به شیوه‌ای ساکنان شهر را آزار می‌داد. او با کارهای خشن ِخود مردم را نابود می‌کرد ... همهٔ مردم را.

* خط ۹. از ناله و دادخواهی مردم، «اِنلیل / ایـلـّیل» خدای بزرگ (= مردوک) ناراحت شد ... دیگر ایزدان آن سرزمین را ترک کرده بودند.

منظور آبادانی و فراوانی و آرامش

* خط ۱۰. مردم از خدای بزرگ می‌خواستند تا به وضع همهٔ باشندگان روی زمین که زندگی و کاشانهٔ شان رو به ویرانی می‌رفت، توجه کند. مردوک خدای بزرگ اراده کرد تا ایزدان به «بابـِل» بازگردند.

* خط ۱۱. ساکنان سرزمین «سومِـر» و «اَکـَّد» مانند مردگان شده بودند. مردوک به سوی آنان متوجه شد و بر آنان رحمت آورد.

* خط ۱۲. مردوک به دنبال فرمانروایی دادگر در سراسر همهٔ کشورها به جستجو پرداخت. به جستجوی شاهی خوب که او را یاری دهد. آنگاه او نام «کورش» پادشاه «اَنـْشان»(اَن - شـَ - اَن) را برخواند. از او به نام پادشاه جهان یاد کرد.

* خط ۱۳. او تمام سرزمین «گوتی»(کو - تی - ای) را به فرمانبرداری کورش درآورد. همچنین همهٔ مردمان «ماد»(اوم - مـان مَـن - دَه) را. کـورش با هر «سیاه سر» (همهٔ انـسان‌ها) دادگرانه رفتار کرد.

در تداول، نام ِبابلی «اومان منده» را با «ماد» برابر می‌دانند. اما به نظر می‌آید که این نام بر همه یا یکی از اقوام آریایی که در هزارهٔ دوم پیش از میلاد به میان دورود مهاجرت کرده بوده اند؛ اطلاق می‌شده‌است.

* خط ۱۴. کورش با راستی و عدالت کشور را اداره می‌کرد. مردوک، خدای بزرگ، با شادی از کردار نیک و اندیشهٔ نیکِ این پشتیبان ِمردم خرسند بود.

* خط ۱۵. او کورش را برانگیخت تا راه بابل را در پیش گیرد؛ در حالی که خودش همچون یاوری راستین دوشادوش او گام برمی داشت.

ممکن است منظور دیده شدن سیارهٔ مشتری بوده باشد. در باورهای ایرانی، سیارهٔ مشتری نماد آسمانی ِ«اهورامزدا / مردوک» بوده‌است. نک به : بارتل ل. واندروردن، پیدایش دانش نجوم، ترجمهٔ همایون صنعتی زاده، ۱۳۷۲. او حتی منظور از «سپاه پر شمار او» را نیز ستارگان آسمان می‌داند.

* خط ۱۶. لشکر پر شمار او که همچون آب رودخانه‌ای شمارش ناپذیر بود، آراسته به انواع جنگ افزارها در کنار او ره می‌سپردند.

* خط ۱۷. مردوک مقدر کرد تا کورش بدون جنگ و خونریزی به شهر بابل وارد شود. او بابل را از هر بلایی ایمن داشت. او «نـَبـونـید»(نـَ - بو - نـ َ- اید) شاه را به دست کورش سپرد.

* خط ۱۸. مردم بابل، سراسر سرزمین سومر و اَکـَّد و همهٔ فرمانروایان محلی فرمان کورش را پذیرفتند. از پادشاهی او شادمان شدند و با چهره‌های درخشان او را بوسیدند.

* خط ۱۹. مردم سروری را شادباش گفتند که به یاری او از چنگال مرگ و غم رهایی یافتند و به زندگی بازگشتند. همهٔ ایزدان او را ستودند و نامش را گرامی داشتند.

* خط ۲۰. منم «کورش»، شاه جهان، شاه بزرگ، شاه توانمند، شاه بابـِل، شاه سومر و اَکـَّد، شاه چهار گوشهٔ جهان.

از این جا روایت به صیغهٔ اول شخص و از زبان کورش بازگو می‌شود. استرابو نقل می‌کند که «کورش» نامی است که او پس از پادشاهی و با الهام از رود «کـُر» در جنوب پاسارگاد بر خود نهاد. پیش از این ، نام او «اَگـرَداتوس»(Agradatus) (اَگـرَداد / اَگـراداد) بوده‌است. نک به : جغرافیای استرابو، ترجمهٔ هـ. صنعتی زاده، ۱۳۸۲، ص. ۳۱۹

* خط ۲۱. پسر «کمبوجیه»(کـ َ- اَم - بو - زی - یَه)، شاه بزرگ، شاه «اَنـْشان»، نـوهٔ «کـورش»(کـورش یکم)، شاه بزرگ، شاه اَنشان، نبیرهٔ «چیش پیش» (شی - ایش - بی - ایش)، شاه بزرگ، شاه اَنشان.

* خط ۲۲. از دودمانی کـه همیشه شاه بوده‌اند و فرمانروایی اش را «بـِل / بعل» (بـ ِ- لو) (خداوند / = مردوک) و «نـَبـو»(نـ َ- بو) گرامی می‌دارند و با خرسندی قلبی پادشاهی او را خواهانند. آنگاه که بدون جنگ و پیکار وارد بابل شدم؛

«نـَبو» ایزد نویسندگی و دبیری بوده، و نیایشگاه او به نام «اِزیدَه» خوانده می‌شده‌است. ورود کورش «بدون جنگ و پیکار» به بابل، نه تنها در گزارش او، بلکه در متون بابلی همچون «سالنامهٔ نبونید» و نیز در «تواریخ هرودوت»(کتاب یکم) تایید شده‌است. برای آگاهی از سالنامهٔ نبونید نگاه کنید به : Hinnz, W., Darios und die Perser, I, ۱۹۷۶, p. ۱۰۶.

* خط ۲۳. همهٔ مردم گام‌های مرا با شادمانی پذیرفتند. در بارگاه پادشاهان بابل بر تخت شهریاری نشستم. مَردوک دل‌های پاک مردم بابل را متوجه من کرد، زیرا من او را ارجمند و گرامی داشتم.

پذیرش کورش توسط مردم، در «کورش نامه / سیروپدی»(Curou Paideia) نوشتهٔ گزنفون نیز تایید شده‌است. گزنفون اظهار می‌دارد که مردمان همهٔ کشورها با رضایت خودشان پادشاهی و اقتدار کورش را پذیرفته بودند (سیروپدی، کتاب یکم)

* خط ۲۴. ارتش بزرگ من به صلح و آرامی وارد بابل شد. نگذاشتم رنج و آزاری به مردم این شهر و این سرزمین وارد آید.

* خط ۲۵. وضع داخلی بابل و جایگاه‌های مقدسش قلب مرا تکان داد ... من برای صلح کوشیدم. نـَبونید، مردم درماندهٔ بابل را به بردگی کشیده بود، کاری که در خور شأن آنان نبود.

* خط ۲۶. من برده داری را برانداختم. به بدبختی‌های آنان پایان بخشیدم. فرمان دادم که همهٔ مردم در پرستش خدای خود آزاد باشند و آنان را نیازارند. فرمان دادم که هیچ کس اهالی شهر را از هستی ساقط نکند. مردوک از کردار نیک من خشنود شد.

* خط ۲۷. او بر من، کورش، که ستایشگر او هستم، بر پسر من «کمبوجیه» و همچنین بر همهٔ سپاهیان من،

* خط ۲۸. برکت و مهربانی اش را ارزانی داشت. ما همگی شادمانه و در صلح و آشتی مقام بلندش را ستودیم. به فرمان مَردوک همهٔ شاهانی که بر اورنگ پادشاهی نشسته اند؛

* خط ۲۹. و همهٔ پادشاهان سرزمین‌های جهان، از «دریای بالا» تا «دریای پایین»(دریای مدیترانه تا دریای فارس)، همهٔ مردم سرزمین‌های دوردست، همهٔ پادشاهان «آموری»(اَ - مور - ری - ای)، همهٔ چادرنشینان،

* خط ۳۰. مـرا خراج گذاردند و در بابل بر من بوسه زدند. از ... تا «آشـور» (اَش - شور) و «شوش» (شو - شَن)

۳۱. من شهرهای «آگادِه»(اَ - گـَ - دِه)، «اِشنونا»(اِش - نو - نَک)، «زَمبان»(زَ - اَم - بـَ - اَن)، «مِتورنو»(مـِ - تور - نو)، «دیر»(دِ - ایر)، سرزمین «گوتیان» و شهرهای کهن آن سوی «دجله»(ای - دیک - لَت) که ویران شده بود را از نو ساختم.

* خط ۳۲. فرمان دادم تمام نیایشگاه‌هایی که بسته شده بود را بگشایند. همهٔ خدایان این نیایشگاه‌ها را به جاهای خود بازگرداندم. همهٔ مردمانی که پراکنده و آواره شده بودند را به جایگاه‌های خود برگرداندم. خانه‌های ویران آنان را آباد کردم. همهٔ مردم را به همبستگی فرا خواندم.

با این که هیچ دلیل قاطعی در زرتشتی بودن ِکورش بزرگ در دست نیست؛ اما او همچون زرتشت به این باور کهن ایرانی پایبند بوده‌است که هر کس در پرستش خدای خود و انتخاب دین خود آزاد است. افسوس که موبدان زرتشتی ِعصر ساسانی با سختگیری و خشونت‌های بی شمار و اعمال سلیقه‌های شخصی در تحریف آیین زرتشت، به این دستاورد با ارزش فرهنگ ایرانی آسیب زدند.

* خط ۳۳. هم چنین پیکرهٔ خدایان سومر و اَکـَّد را که نـَبونید بدون واهمه از خدای بزرگ به بابل آورده بود؛ به خشنودی مَردوک به شادی و خرمی،

* خط ۳۴. به نیایشگاه‌های خودشان بازگرداندم، بشود که دل‌ها شاد گردد. بشود، خدایانی که آنان را به جایگاه‌های مقدس نخستین شان بازگرداندم،

گشایش و بازسازی نیایشگاه‌ها به فرمان کورش، دست کم در یک متن دیگر شناخته شده‌است. بر این لوح چهار سطری که از «اَرَخ» در میان دورود کشف شده، آمده‌است : «منم کورش، پسر کمبوجیه، شاه توانمند، آن که «اِسَگیلَه» و «اِزیدَه» را باز ساخت.» برای آگاهی بیشتر نگاه کنید به صفحهٔ ۱۵۶ مقالهٔ W. Eilers در کتاب شناسی

* خط ۳۵. هر روز در پیشگاه خدای بزرگ برایم خواستار زندگانی بلند باشند. بشود که سخنان پر برکت و نیک خواهانه برایم بیابند. بشود که آنان به خدای من مَردوک بگویند: «به کورش شاه، پادشاهی که تو را گرامی می‌دارد و پسرش کمبوجیه جایگاهی در سرای سپند ارزانی دار.»

در باورهای ایرانی، «سرای سپند» یا «اَنَـغْـرَه رَئـُچَـنـْگـْه» (اَنـَغران / اَنارام) به معنای «روشنایی ِبی پایان و جایگاه خدای بزرگ یا اهورامزدا و بهشت برین است.

* خط ۳۶. بی گمان در روزهای سازندگی، همگی ِمردم بابل، پادشاه را گرامی داشتند و من برای همهٔ مردم جامعه‌ای آرام فراهم ساختم.

صلح و آرامش را به تمامی مردم اعطا کردم...

* خط ۳۷. … غاز، دو اردک، ده کبوتر. برای غازها، اردک‌ها و کبوتران …

از سطر ۳۷ تا ۴۵ بخش نویافته‌ای است که در مقالهٔ «دربارهٔ منشور کورش» به آن اشاره شد. این نُه سطر دنبالهٔ بلافصل سطرهای پیشین نیست.

* خط ۳۸. ... باروی بزرگ شهر بابل بنام «ایمگور - اِنلیل»(ایم - گور - اِن - لیل) را استوار گردانیدم ...

* خط ۳۹. ... دیوار آجری خندق شهر را،

* خط ۴۰. ... که هیچ یک از شاهان پیشین با بردگان ِبه بیگاری گرفته شده به پایان نرسانیده بودند؛

* خط ۴۱. ... به انجام رسانیدم.

* خط ۴۲. دروازه‌هایی بزرگ برای آن‌ها گذاشتم با درهایی از چوب «سِدر» و روکشی از مفرغ ...

* خط ۴۳. ... کتیبه‌ای از پادشاهی پیش از من بنام «آشور بانیپال»(آش - شور - با - نی - اَپ - لی)

* خط ۴۴. ...

* خط ۴۵. ... برای همیشه !

I see nothing vulgar here by Geza (aka Wilsing)

5 12

Is this perennial prostrate herb vulgar cos it has so many names?

Better LARGE on Black

J20160625-0003—Symphoricarpos albus var laevigatus—RPBG by John Rusk

19 23

Symphoricarpos albus var. laevigatus—snowberry. This is the upright shrubby variety found mainly in the Western United States and Canada, but introduced elsewhere. Other varieties tend to have a prostrate habit. The corolla, which are not fully open, measure from 4 to 6 mm. The small flowers will develop into the white fruits measuring up to 1 cm. The plant that provided the twig photographed at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA

Nepal - Kathmandu Valley - Pharping - Dakshinkali Temple -26- by Manfred Sommer