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! ==Legends== Kali's most famous appearance is on the battlefield in one of the sixth century text ''[[Devi Mahatmyam]]''. The deity of the first chapter of ''Devi Mahatmyam'' is Mahakali, who appears from the body of sleeping [[Vishnu]] as goddess Yoga Nidra to wake him up in order to protect [[Bramha|Brahma]] and the world from two [[asuras]] (demons), [[Madhu-Kaitabha]]. When Vishnu woke up he started a war against the two asuras. After a long battle with Lord Vishnu when the two demons were undefeated Mahakali took the form of Mahamaya to enchant the two asuras. When Madhu and Kaitabha were enchanted by Mahakali, Vishnu killed them.<ref name="Kinsley1997">{{cite book |last1=Kinsley |first1=David |title=Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahavidyas |publisher=Berkeley: University of California Press |year=1997 |pages=70}} </ref> In later chapters, the story of two asuras who were destroyed by Kali can be found. [[Chanda and Munda]] attack the goddess [[Kaushiki]]. Kaushiki responds with such anger it causes her face to turn dark, resulting in Kali appearing out of her forehead. Kali's appearance is dark blue, gaunt with sunken eyes, and wearing a tiger skin [[sari]] and a [[Mundamala|garland of human heads]]. She immediately defeats the two asuras. Later in the same battle, the asura [[Raktabija]] is undefeated because of his ability to reproduce himself from every drop of his blood that reaches the ground. Countless Raktabija clones appear on the battlefield. Kali eventually defeats him by sucking his blood before it can reach the ground, and eating the numerous clones. Kinsley writes that Kali represents "Durga's personified wrath, her embodied fury".<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> Other origin stories involve Parvati and Shiva. Parvati is typically portrayed as a benign and friendly goddess. The ''[[Linga Purana]]'' describes Shiva asking Parvati to defeat the asura [[Daruka]], who received a boon that would only allow a female to kill him. Parvati merges with Shiva's body, reappearing as Kali to defeat Daruka and his armies. Her bloodlust gets out of control, only calming when Shiva intervenes. The ''[[Vamana Purana]]'' has a different version of Kali's relationship with Parvati. When Shiva addresses Parvati as Kali, "the dark blue one", she is greatly offended. Parvati performs austerities to lose her dark complexion and becomes Gauri, the golden one. Her dark sheath becomes ''[[Kaushiki]]'', who while enraged, creates Kali.<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> ===Slayer of Raktabīja=== In Kāli's most famous legend, [[Durga]] and her assistants, the [[Matrikas]], wound the demon [[Raktabīja]], 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 Raktabīja, he reproduces a duplicate of himself. The battlefield becomes increasingly filled with his duplicates.<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> Durga summons Kāli to combat the demons. The ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]m'' describes: {{blockquote|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 and caught the blood of Raktabīja before it could fall to the ground, stopping him from creating more duplicates.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jagadiswarananda |first1=Swami |title=Devi Mahatmyam |year=1953 |publisher=Ramakrishna Math }}</ref>}} Kali consumes Raktabīja and his duplicates, and dances on the corpses of the slain.<ref name="Kinsley1997" /> In ''[[Devi Mahatmya]]'' version of this story, Kali is also described as a ''Matrika'' and as a ''[[Shakti]]'' or power of [[Durga|Devi]]. She is given the epithet ''{{IAST|Cāṃuṇḍā}}'' (''[[Chamunda]]''), i.e. the slayer of the demons [[Chanda and Munda]].<ref name ="Wangu2003">{{cite book |last1=Wangu |first1=Madhu Bazaz |title=Images of Indian Goddesses |year=2003 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-81-7017-416-5}}</ref>{{rp|72}} ''Chamunda'' is very often identified with Kali and is very much like her in appearance and habit.<ref name="Kinsley1997" />{{rp|241 Footnotes}} In Tantric Kali Kula Shaktism, Kali is the supreme goddess and source of all goddesses. In [[Yogini Tantra|Yoginī Tantra]], Kālī kills [[Kolasura]] and [[Ghorasura]]. 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. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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