Hindu Mother Goddess: Kali

Kali, the mother goddess of time, change, death and doomsday is one of the oldest figures of the Sanskrit tradition of Southern Asia. Her iconography and cult are associated with wild concepts like doomsday, death, sexuality and violence, so it is easy to say that she is one of the most interesting figures in Hindu pantheon. Unlike wise and virtuous Kartikeya, the Hindu god we previously examined, Kali is always depicted with a savage and ferocious look in Hindu art with a long tongue, multiple hands with a decapitated head in one of them and with a curved sword, standing on top of a body. Her influence in South Asia is huge, as she is a figure in local religions and beliefs beyond the mainstream Hindu religion. She has been worshipped as a goddess in different forms as early as the 3rd century BC. 

Etymology of the name “Kali” 

Her name is derived from the Sanskrit word Kala, which means “time”. The main concept that she is affiliated with. Interestingly, kala also means “black”, which is another thing that she is affiliated with, as she is depicted as a dark figure. Moreover, she is often called Kali Mata, which means “dark mother”. 

Kali and Shiva 

Shiva, one of the principal deities in Hinduism, is the consort of the goddess Kali. Moreover, Kali is also her shakti (power.) Remember that she is usually depicted standing on a body? Well, that body belongs to his husband Shiva. Their story is rather interesting. The story starts with a time when various demons started dominating the world, so Kali went berserk with fury, destroying everything she came across with. There was no stopping her, she simply slaughtered everything with madness.  

Her fury would not stop; she became more and more destructive as time went on. No one dared to stop her as she kept destroying everything on the planet. Meanwhile, they asked for Shiva’s help, saying “She is going on like this. She is your woman. Please do something to calm her down.” Shiva agreed and approached her as her closest one. Trying to make it stop. However, the energy of Kali was on a cosmic scale; it was so strong that it knocked Shiva himself, the principal deity, down. Kali realized what she did only after she slowed down, and breathed life into him to take him back. 

Kali as Mother Nature 

The dark appearance of Kali represents the times when there was no creation, no light, only darkness. She is the darkness from which everything came into existence. Her wild look and long black hair represent the natures’ freedom from human civilization. Kali is the power and energy that maintains the universe, and she is the one that creates, nurtures and devours, while her consort, Shiva is the consciousness. Consciousness and energy are dependent on each other, in order to create and support the universe and the beings inside. In that tantric interpretation, Shiva is considered a corpse without Shakti, the power of Kali.  

She is a marginal figure both geographically and culturally, still worshipped as one of the principal deities in Nepal, West Bengal and India, and still is an influential figure in the modern world as a symbol of feminine empowerment and sexual liberation, especially in the West. She also has a great influence on popular culture, for example, The Rolling Stones’ logo is based on the tongue of Kali.