Kali Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Symbolism== Interpretations of the symbolic meanings of Kali's appearance vary depending on Tantric or devotional approach, and on whether one views her image in a symbolic, allegorical or mystical fashion.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" /> ===Physical form=== [[File:Maa Bhavatarini's face @ Dakshineshwar Kali Temple.JPG|thumb|upright|In Bengal and Odisha, Kali's extended tongue is widely seen as expressing embarrassment over the realization that her foot is on her husband's chest.<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}}<ref name="Kali's Tongue" /><ref name="Dutta2011" /><ref name="McDaniel"/>{{rp|237}} Pictured is the idol of Kali at the [[Dakshineshwar Kali Temple]].]] There are many varied depictions of the different forms of Kali. The most common form shows her with four arms and hands, showing aspects of both creation and destruction. The two right hands are often held out in blessing, one in a mudra saying "fear not" ([[abhayamudra]]), the other conferring boons. Her left hands hold a severed head and blood-covered sword. The sword severs the bondage of ignorance and ego ([[Tamas (philosophy)|tamas]]), represented by the severed head. One interpretation of Kali's tongue is that the red tongue symbolizes the [[rajasic]] nature being conquered by the white (symbolizing [[sattvic]]) nature of the teeth. Her blackness represents that she is ''[[nirguna]]'', beyond all qualities of nature, and transcendent.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" /><ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}} The most widespread interpretation of Kali's extended tongue involve her embarrassment over the sudden realization that she has stepped on her husband's chest. Kali's sudden "modesty and shame" over that act is the prevalent interpretation among [[Hinduism in Odisha|Odia Hindus]].<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}} The biting of the tongue conveys the emotion of ''lajja'' or modesty, an expression that is widely accepted as the emotion being expressed by Kali.<ref name="Kali's Tongue">{{cite book |last1=Menon |first1=Usha |last2=Shweder |first2=Richard A. |title=Emotion and Culture: Empirical Studies of Mutual Influence |chapter=Kali's Tongue: Cultural Psychology and the Power of Shame in Orissa, India |editor-last=Kitayama |editor-first=Shinobu |editor2-last=Markus |editor2-first=Hazel Rose |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=American Psychological Association |date=1994 |pages=241–284}}</ref><ref name="McDaniel"/>{{rp|237}} In Bengal also, Kali's protruding tongue is "widely accepted... as a sign of speechless embarrassment: a gesture very common among Bengalis."<ref name="Dutta2011">{{cite book|author=Krishna Dutta|title=Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History (Cities of the Imagination)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SZq_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PT18|year=2011|publisher=Andrews UK Ltd|isbn=978-1-904955-87-0|page=18}}</ref><ref name="Harding" />{{rp|xxiii}} The twin earrings of Kali are small embryos. This is because Kali likes devotees who have childlike qualities in them.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16"/> The forehead of Kali is seen to be as luminous as the full moon and eternally giving out ambrosia.<ref name="Pravrajika Vedantaprana 2015 p.16"/> Kali is often shown standing with her right foot on Shiva's chest. This represents an episode where Kali was out of control on the battlefield, such that she was about to destroy the entire universe. Shiva pacified her by laying down under her foot to pacify and calm her. Shiva is sometimes shown with a blissful smile on his face.<ref name="Dold2003" />{{rp|53–55}} She is typically shown with a garland of severed heads, often numbering fifty. This can symbolize the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and therefore as the primordial sound of [[Aum]] from which all creation proceeds. The severed arms which make up her skirt represent her devotee's karma that she has taken on.<ref name="Kinsley1998pp86-90" /> ===Mother Nature=== The name Kali means [[Kāla (time)|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.<ref name="Harding" /> Her complexion is black. As she is also the goddess of Preservation, Kali is worshipped as the preserver of [[nature]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is standing calm on [[Shiva]], her appearance represents the preservation of mother nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Her free, long and black hair represents nature's freedom from [[civilization]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Under the third eye of kali, the signs of both sun, moon, and fire are visible which represent the driving forces of nature.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Kali is not always thought of as a Dark Goddess.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Despite Kali's origins in battle, she evolved to a full-fledged symbol of Mother Nature in her creative, nurturing and devouring aspects.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} There are several interpretations of the symbolism behind the commonly represented image of Kali standing on Shiva's supine form. A common interpretation is that Shiva symbolizes ''[[purusha]]'', the universal unchanging aspect of reality, or pure consciousness. Kali represents ''[[Prakriti]]'', nature or matter, sometimes seen as having a feminine quality of creation of life. The merging of these two qualities represent ultimate reality.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|88}} A tantric interpretation sees Shiva as consciousness and Kali as power or energy. Consciousness and energy are dependent upon each other, since Shiva depends on Shakti, or energy, in order to fulfill his role in creation, preservation, and destruction. In this view, without Shakti, Shiva is a corpse—unable to act.<ref name="Dold2003"/>{{rp|53}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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